UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


TIIK  SL()SS  COLLKCTION  i)K  THK  ^>EMITIC  MBKAKV 
OK  THi:  LMVEKSITV  OF  CALIKOKMA. 


til  FT  Ol- 

IJDUIS  SLOSS. 

February.  1897. 


Accession  No ^6  y^^^.     CLus  No. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/epitomeofpostbibOOhechrich 


EPITOME 


OF 


POST-BIBLICAL  HISTORY, 


FOR 


JEWISH-AMERICAN  SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 


AdapUd  from  tht  German  of  Dr.  David  Leimdoerfer^  and  considerably  Enlarged. 


Minister  of  Kahl  Montgomery , 


MONTOOMKRY,   ALA. 


CINCINNATI  . 

BLOCH  &  GO.,  PUBLISHERS  AND  PRINTERfi. 


>.^ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 

BLOCK  &  CO. 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


^?ff^ 


m«^ 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Pkeface,       3 

Past  I.  —  ANTIQUITY. 

CHA.FTBR. 

i.    Israel  Under  the  Greeks — Alexander  the  Great,    -        -  5 

li.    The  Ptolemies, -  6 

iii.    Judea  a  Syrian  Province, 8 

iv.    The  Maccabees, 11 

V.  .  Jonathan  and  Simon,       - 14 

yi.    The  Jews  After  Simon — Sanhedrin,    -        -        -        -  15 

vii.     Sanhedrin  at  Jerusalem, 17 

viii.    John  Hyrcanos, .-.  ig 

ix.    The  End  of  the  Hasmoneans, 20 

X.    Herod, 22 

xi.    Hillel  and  Shammai, 24 

xii.    The  Roman  Procurators, 26 

liii.    Destruction  of  Jerusalem, 28 

xiv.    Rabbi  Jochanan  ben  Saccai  and  His  Disciples,          -  30 

XT,    The  Jews  After  the  Destruction  of  the  Second  Temple,  32 

xvi.    Bar  Cochba— The  Fall  of  Bethar,       -        -        -        -  33 

xvii.    The  Ten  Martyrs,     -        - 35 

xviii.    Rabbi  Akiba,  His  Disciples  and  Colleagues,      -        -  37 

xix.    Rab'n  Jehuda  Hanassi — Amoraim,        -        -        -        -  41 

XX.    Israel  After  Hadrian's  Persecutions,          .        .        .  43 

xxi.    The  Talmud, -        -  45 

• 
Part  II.  — THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

i.    The  Jews  in  Persia,  India  and  China,        -       .       -  49 

ii.    Islamism,          -- 50 

iii.    The  Caraites, 51 

iv.    The  Jewish  Chazares, 52 

V.    The  Gaonim, --  63 

vi.    The  Unhappy  Fate  of  the  Jews, 56 

vii.    The  Friends  of  the  Jews,    ------  62 

viii.    Jewish  Life  and  Work, 64 


ix.  Solomon  Ibn  Gabirol, 67 

X.  Jehuda  Halevi, 68 

xi.  Abraham  Ibn  Ezra, 69 

xii.  Moses  Maiinonides, 70 

xiii.  Ramban,  Nachmanides(R.  Moses  b.  Nachman),       -  74 

xiv.  Don  Isaac  Abarbanel, 74 

XV.  Rashi  (Solomon  ben  Isaac), 76 

xvi.  Isaac  Alfasi  (R.  Isaac  b.  Joseph  Alphes),       -        -        -  79 

xvii.  Celebrities  in  Germany, 80 

xviii.  Mysticism— Cabalah,       -------  83 

xix.  Benedict  (Baruch)  Spinoza  and  Gabriel  (Uriel)  Acosta,  85 

XX.  Manasse  ben  Israel, 87 

Part  III.  —  MODERN  TIMES. 

i.  The  Emancipation  of  the  Jews  in  France,          -        -  89 

ii.  The  Jews  in  Holland  and  Belgium,        -        -        -        -  91 

iii.  The  Jews  in  Germany, 92 

iv.  Moses  Mendelssohn, 93 

V.  The  Jews  in  Austria, 98 

vi.  The  Jews  in  other  European  States,        -        -        -        -  99 

vii.  The  Jews  in  Asia, 103 

viii.  The  Jews  in  Africa, 105 

ix.  The  Jews  in  Australia, 106 

X,  The  Jews  in  America, 107 

xi.  The  Great  Jewish  Societies, 109 

xii.  Religious  Tendencies.       -------  113 

xiii.  Jewish  Institutions  for  Learning,         -----  hq 

xiv.  Jewish  Celebrities, 121 

XV.    Statistics, 123 

Conclusion — Our  Duty  in  the  Present  and  for  the  Future,       -  125 

Chronological  Table, 129 


PREFACE. 


In  the  following  pages  I  desire  to  lay  before  the  teachers 
and  pupils  of  Jewish- American  Sabbath-schools  an  adapta- 
tion from  the  German  Post-Biblical  History  of  Dr.  David 
Leimdoerfer,  Rabbi  at  Nordhausen.  The  same  reasons  that 
induced  the  author  to  publish  his  little  book  in  German 
prompted  me  to  attempt  its  reproduction  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. 

A  post-biblical  history,  adapted  for  the  use  of  our  Sabbath- 
schools,  a  history  containing  in  the  smallest  possible  compass 
the  outlines  of  Israel's  history,  was  a  want  long  and  keenly 
felt ;  for  while  many  of  our  American  teachers  and  scholars 
have  labored  zealously  and  faithfully  in  the  field  of  biblical 
literature,  and  have  given  us  many  a  valuable  and  useful 
text-book  on  biblical  history,  they  have  neglected  to  supply 
our  schools  with  a  suitable  one  on  post-biblical  history. 

From  year  to  year,  however,  it  becomes  more  and  more 
manifest  that  the  present  mode  of  rehgious  instruction  is  in- 
adequate, and  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for  the  religious 
indifference  of  our  young.  Children  leave  school  too  soon 
(at  fourteen  or  fifteen).  They  have,  at  best,  indifferently 
mastered  the  biblical  history.  That  there  is  something  be- 
hind, that  the  history  of  their  people,  after  the  close  of  the 
biblical  annals,  is  fraught  with  valuable  information,  with 
sublime  lessons  and  with  examples  worthy  of  emulation; 
that  they  know  not,  they  suspect  not.  Thus  they  grow  up, 
ignorant  of  that  which,  if  known  by  them,  would  fill  them 


PREFACE. 


with  pride  for  Judaism  and  make  them  its  warm  supporters 
and  defenders. 

These  reasons  are  of  sufficient  weight  to  plead  earnestly 
for  the  general  introduction  in  our  religious  schools  of  a 
course  on  post-biblical  history,  which  again  necessitates  a 
suitable  text-book,  one  that,  by  the  brevity  of  its  style  and  the 
completeness  of  its  contents,  would  recommend  itself  to 
teachers  and  pupils. 

In  writing  these  pages,  I  have  adopted  and  closely  followed 
the  plan  of  the  learned  Dr.  Leimdoerfer,  who  selected  his 
material  most  happily ;  and  only  where  I  found  his  accounts 
and  statements  too  brief,  i.  e.,  brief  at  the  expense  of  clear- 
ness, I  have  consulted  the  work  of  Dr.  Kaiserling  in  making 
my  additions. 

The  chapter  on  "  Jews  in  America,"  with  all  that  belongs 
to  American  Judaism,  being  treated  by  Dr.  Leimdoerfer  only 
en  passant,  I  have  considerably  enlarged.  In  writing  this 
chapter,  I  used  the  Census  Report  issued  by  the  "  Board  of 
Delegates  "  and  the  printed  council  proceedings  of  the  several 
conventions  of  the  U.  A.  H.  C. 

Fondly  hoping  that  this  little  book  may  find  favor  in  the 
eyes  of  those  for  whom  it  is  intended,  that  it  may  be  pro- 
ductive of  that  good  to  achieve  which  I  undertook  the  work, 
and  that  it  may  satisfy  a  just  criticism,  I  commend  it  to  the 
teachers  of  Hebrew- American  congregational  schools,  whose 
suggestions  and  corrections  I  solicit. 

S.  HECHT. 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  November,  1881. 


Pai^t   I. 
ANTIQUITY. 


I. — ISRAEL  UNDER  THE  R,ULE  OF  THE  GREEKS. — ^ALEXANDER  THE 

GREAT. 

At  the  death  of  Nehemiah,  Palestine  was  still  under  Per- 
sian vassalage,  and  remained  in  that  state  for  about  a  century 
longer.  But  the  Persian  dynasty  was  overthrown  336  B.  C, 
and  Alexander  the  Great,  King  of  Macedonia,  became  master 
of  the  situation.  The  victorious  Greek  soon  after  attacked 
and  besieged  Tyre,  the  capital  of  Phoenicia,  which  offered 
obstinate  resistance  for  several  months.  While  before  Tyre, 
Alexander  deputed  messengers  to  Judea,  to  collect  the  trib- 
ute due.  The  High-priest  Jaddua,  who  at  the  time  stood 
at  the  head  of  affairs,  and  to  whom  the  request  for  troops 
and  provisions  was  made,  refused  both  on  the  plea  of 
loyalty  to  the  Persian  crown.  Alexander  was  very  much  en- 
raged at  this,  as  he  thought,  insolent  answer  of  the  Jewish 
high-priest,  and  threatened  a  severe  visitation  of  his  wrath 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  Judea.  Just  then  Tyre  fell,  after  a 
most  gallant  struggle  and  heroic  resistance,  and  Alexander 
marched  upon  Jerusalem.  The  high-priest,  fearful  of  the 
possible  disastrous  results,  now  sought  to  propitiate  the 
mighty  conqueror,  the  terror  of  the  world,  and  resolved  upon 


THE  GREEK  PERIOD. 


a  peaceful  solution  of  the  vexed  question.  Considering 
"  discretion  the  better  part  of  valor,"  he  went  out  to  meet  the 
advancing  conqueror.  At  the  head  of  a  solemn  procession, 
composed  of  priests  in  their  priestly  vestments  and  of  many 
prominent  men,  clad  in  white,  Jaddua  in  his  pontifical  robes 
approached  the  dreaded  conqueror  with  salutations  of  peace 
and  submission.  At  the  sight  of  this  imposing  procession, 
Alexander's  wrath  was  appeased,  and  discovering  the  name  of 
God  engraven  upon  the  plate  of  gold  which  encircled  the 
head-gear  of  the  high-priest,  he  returned  the  salutation  and 
fell  prostrate  before  the  name  of  God.  Amid  the  mute 
amazement  of  his  generals  and  the  loud  rejoicing  of  the  Is- 
raelites, Alexander,  at  the  side  of  Jaddua,  proceeded  to  the 
city.  Arrived  at  the  temple,  he  ordered  sacrifices  to  be 
brought  for  him,  and  was  very  gracious  to  his  new  subjects. 
He  granted  the  Jews  the  full  and  free  exercise  of  their  re- 
hgion,  and  exempted  them  from  taxes  on  every  seventh  year 
(Shemitta).  Out  of  gratitude  for  such  generous  treatment, 
the  Israelites  throughout  the  realm  named  every  boy  born  in 
that  year  Alexander.  However,  they  clung  faithfully  to 
their  ancestral  faith,  notwithstanding  their  good  fortune,  and 
when  Alexander,  after  the  conquest  of  Persia,  resolved  on  the 
rebuilding  of  Babylon  and  the  Belus  Temple,  demanded  the 
assistance  of  the  Jews  in  that  work,  they  represented  to  him 
the  injustice  of  his  demand,  as  conflicting  with  his  promises, 
it  being  contrary  to  their  religion  to  assist  in  building  a 
heathen  temple.  Alexander  recognized  the  justice  of  their 
appeal,  and,  approving  of  their  loyalty  to  their  God,  he  re- 
voked his  order. 

II. — THE  PTOLEMIES. 

In  the  year  323  B.  C,  Alexander  suddenly  died,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-two.  His  vast  empire  was  divided  among  his  gene- 
rals, Syria  and  Judea  becoming  the  portion   of  Seleucus 


THE  PTOLEMIES. 


(Nicator.)  Seleucus  was  friendly  disposed  toward  the  Jews, 
granting  them  equal  rights  with  the  Greeks.  During  his  ad- 
ministration (311  B.  C.)  a  new  era,  called  after  him  the  Sele- 
ceudian  era,  was  introduced.  Dissensions  arising  soon 
thereafter  among  the  rulers  of  the  small  principalities,  Judea 
fell  into  the  power  of  the  Egyptians,  ruled  by  the  Ptolemies, 
who  for  about  one  hundred  years  exercised  their  power  over 
the  Jews.  During  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Soter,  or  Lagi,  the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs  were  in  the  hands  of  a  high- 
priest,  appointed  by  the  King.  The  selection  of  that  high 
functionary,  however,  was  not  always  a  happy  one ;  unworthy 
men  being  often  admitted  to  that  exalted  and  dignified 
office. 

Ptolemy  II.,  Philadelphus,  was  a  man  of  liberal  education, 
and  a  lover  of  literature.  It  is  related  of  him  that  he  once 
found  a  copy  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  in  his  library.  Eager  to 
learn  its  contents,  he  arranged  for  the  translation  into  Greek 
of  that  book.  In  a  gracious  letter,  accompanied  by  many 
costly  presents,  he  requested  the  High-priest  Eleazar  to  send 
him  some  able  and  learned  men,  who,  under  his  own  per- 
sonal supervision,  could  translate  that  mysterious  book. 
Eleazar,  promptly  complying  with  the  request  of  the  King, 
sent  seventy  two  men  (six  from  each  tribe)  to  Alexandria, 
who  discharged  their  duty  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  Phila- 
delphus. That  translation  has  been  preserved  to  this  day, 
and  is  known  by  the  name  Septuagint,  LXX.  (translation  of 
the  seventy). 

Ptolemy  III.,  Euergetes,  was  likewise  well  disposed  toward 
the  Jews.  Not  so,  however,  his  son  and  successor,  Ptolemy 
IV.,  Philopator,  who  persecuted  them  most  bitterly.  His 
hatred  against  the  Jews  was  engendered  by  their  perempto- 
rily refusing  him  admittance  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  their 
sanctuary.  No  one  but  the  high-priest  had  access  to  that 
place,  and  he  only  on  the  Day  of  Atonement.    Notwith- 


THE  SYRIAN  PERIOD. 


standing  this,  Philopator  forced  his  way  into  the  sanctuary ; 
but  ere  his  purpose  was  accomplished  he  suddenly  fell  into  a 
swoon,  and  had  to  be  carried  away  in  a  state  of  unconscious- 
ness. He  no  sooner  had  recovered  from  this  spell,  when  he 
instituted  a  systematic  persecution  of  the  Jews.  He  first 
removed  them  from  all  public  offices,  next  denied  them  their 
rights,  thirdly  reduced  them  to  the  lowest  class  of  citizen- 
ship, and  lastly  he  demanded  that  they  abandon  their  faith. 
Although  a  compliance  with  this  request  would  have  secured 
for  the  Judeans  the  favor  of  the  king,  yet  they  were  resolved 
to  bear  the  worst  rather  than  become  faithless  to  their  God. 
Ptolemy,  imbittered  by  their  refusal,  now  sought  to  punish 
them  in  a  manner  unheard  of  before.  He  gave  orders  to 
bring  the  obstinate  Jews  to  Alexandria  and  to  place  them  in 
the  Hippodrome.  Here  the  Jews  were  to  meet  their  fearful 
doom,  by  having  set  upon  them  a  number  of  intoxicated  ele- 
phants. The  dreaded  moment  came.  At  the  sight  of  the 
maddened  beasts,  that  seemed  ready  to  crush  them  under 
their  feet,  the  intended  victims  raised  a  cry  of  terror,  which 
strangely  afiected  the  elephants,  for  instead  of  crushing  the 
Jews  they  turned  against  the  spectators  and  trampled  many 
of  them  under  foot.  Philopator,  baffled  at  every  point, 
began  to  see  his  injustice  and  to  repent  of  it ;  but  it  was  too 
late;  the  Jews  had  been  wounded  too  deeply,  the  outrage 
perpetrated  upon  their  holiest  feelings  was  felt  by  them  too 
keenly ;  they  could  never  forget  it,  and  longed  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  shake  off  the  hated  Egyptian  yoke. 

III. — JUDEA  A  SYRIAN  PROVINCE. 

The  opportunity  which  the  Jews  sought  to  rid  themselves 
of  their  Egyptian  masters  offered  itself  sooner  than  they  had 
anticipated.  Philopator  had  touched  their  most  sensitive 
point ;  that  they  vividly  remembered,  even  after  that  tyrant 
had  died,  in  consequence  of  his  intemperate  habits,  and 


ANTI0CHU8  EPIPHANE8.  9 

Ptolemy  V.,  Epiphanes,  had  ascended  the  throne.  This  new 
king  was  a  mere  child  when  he  assumed  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, and  this  circumstance  accounts  not  only  for  the  re- 
newal of  the  attack,  which  Antiochus  III.,  the  Great,  had 
unsuccessfully  made  upon  Ptolemy  Philopator,  but  also  for 
the  ease  with  which  the  Syrian  king  now  succeeded  in  wresting 
Judea  from  Egypt  and  making  it  tributary  to  Byria.  The 
Jews  would  readily  and  cheerfully  have  transferred  their  al- 
legiance from  Egypt  to  anyone ;  but  toward  Antiochus,  the 
lineal  descendant  of  Seleucus  Nicator,  they  felt  themselves 
particularly  attracted.  Nor  did  they  have  any  reason  to  re- 
gret the  change  until  a  later  period.  For  Antiochus  treated 
them  liberally,  accorded  them  religious  privileges,  and  rec- 
ommended them  to  the  governors  of  his  provinces  as  most 
loyal  subjects.  Under  his  benignant  reign,  which  lasted 
thirty-seven  years,  they  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  peace,  pros- 
perity and  freedom.  Seleucus  (Philopator),  the  son  and 
successor  of  Antiochus  III.,  pursued  the  same  policy  toward 
his  Jewish  subjects  and  treated  them  with  kindness  and  con- 
sideration. Seleucus  (Philopator)  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother  Antiochus  IV.,  Epiphanes  (the  Illustrious),  also 
called  Epimanes  (the  Madman).  With  the  accession  to  the 
throne  of  Syria  of  this  tyrant,  a  reign  of  terror  began  for  the 
Jews.  The  cruel  persecutions  and  the  heartless  oppression 
which  the  unfortunate  sons  of  Israel  suffered  under  this 
king  beggar  description,  and  surpassed  by  far  the  worst 
treatment  they  ever  experienced  at  the  hands  of  Philopator 
in  Egypt.  The  first  act  of  his,  affecting  the  Israelites,  was 
the  deposition  of  the  worthy  and  pious  High-priest  Onias 
III.,  whom  he  supplanted  by  Jason  for  the  consideration  of  a 
few  talents  of  silver.  But  Jason  did  not  long  enjoy  the 
honors  of  his  office,  being  replaced  by  his  brother,  Menelaus, 
who  offered  the  king  a  still  higher  price.  The  consequence 
was  that  this  unprecedentedly  high-handed  dealing  brought 


10  ANTIOCHUS  EPIPHANES. 

about  an  insurrection,  which  was  succeeded  by  the  most  de- 
plorable consequences.  These  mercenary  high-priests,  by  the 
grace  of  Antiochus,  without  the  least  appreciation  of  their 
high  dignity,  turned  from  their  people,  neglected  their 
duties  and  became  votaries  of  Greek  art  and  Greek  customs, 
and  of  heathen  practices.  Their  example  was  contagious, 
and  the  people,  following  their  teachers,  likewise  became 
recreant  to  their  duty.  In  the  midst  of  this  demoralization, 
Antiochus  acted  in  a  high-handed  manner.  He  fell  upon 
Jerusalem,  robbed  the  temple,  killed  thousands  of  Israelites 
and  commanded  the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  worship,  to  the 
last  vestige.  Every  observance  peculiar  to  the  people  of  Is- 
rael was  interdicted,  the  violation  of  the  Sabbath  was  en- 
forced, the  reading  of  the  law  was  made  an  offense,  the 
scrolls  were  torn  and  burnt.  Forbidden  meat  was  given 
them  to  eat,  with  threats  of  the  severest  penalties  if  they 
refused  obedience;  in  fact,  every  Jewish  law,  ceremony 
and  custom  was  to  be  repealed,  set  aside  or  ignored 
under  penalty  of  death.  Upon  the  altars  swine  were  sac- 
rificed and  the  sanctuaries  were  polluted.  Throughout 
Judea  the  Israelites  were  forced  either  to  apostatize  or  die. 
Many  indeed  died  rather  than  depart  from  their  religion. 
History  has  preserved  the  names  and  heroic  deeds  of  many 
martyrs  of  Antiochus'  wrath,  prominent  among  whom  are 
those  of  Eleazar,  an  old  man  of  ninety  years,  who  even 
scorned  to  simulate  faithlessness  to  his  God,  though  he  could 
thereby  have  saved  his  life,  and  of  Hanna,  a  pious  mother 
in  Israel,  who  saw  her  seven  sons  die  before  her  eyes,  one 
after  the  other,  amid  the  most  horrible  tortures,  and  who 
afterward  exclaimed :  "  0  my  sons,  tell  your  Father  in 
heaven  that  Abraham  was  willing  to  bring  his  one  son  as 
an  offering,  but  that  I  have  offered  seven;"  whereupon 
she,  too,  died,  glorifying  the  name  of  God  with  her  expiring 
breath. 


THE  MACCABEES.  11 


rV. — THE  MACCABEES. 

At  Modin,  near  Jerusalem,  there  lived  a  priestly  family,  of 
the  race  of  the  Hasmoneans,  the  head  of  which  was  Mat- 
thias, the  son  of  the  High-priest  Jochanan.  He  was  the 
father  of  five  sons,  Jochanan,  Simon,  Juda  (surnamed  Mac- 
cabi),  Eleazar  and  Jonathan.  To  this  venerable  and  pious 
family  Antiochus  deputed  one  of  his  generals,  with  the  order 
to  introduce  idolatry  in  Mbdin.  That  emissary  was  com- 
manded to  make  the  most  tempting  promises  to  Matthias,  in 
order  to  win  him  over  to  his  side,  justly  thinking  that  his 
example  would  be  followed  by  the  rest.  But  neither  promises 
nor  threats  availed  with  the  old  man,  and  this  was  the  defi- 
nite answer  he  returned  to  Antiochus :  "  I  and  my  house 
shall  remain  faithful  to  our  God."  Seeing  a  Jew  approach- 
ing the  heathen  altar  to  worship  and  sacrifice  upon  it,  Mat- 
thias, old  as  he  was,  transported  with  indignation,  rushed 
upon  the  apostate  and  slew  him  at  the  foot  of  the  altar. 
Herewith  the  signal  was  given  for  a  general  uprising.  Mat- 
thias and  his  sons  called  upon  all  true  sons  of  Israel  to 
gather  around  them  and  to  leave  the  city.  Those  men,  few 
in  number,  withdrew  into  the  neighboring  mountain  recesses, 
from  whence  they  carried  on  a  sort  of  guerilla  warfare. 
With  wonderful  courage  and  heroism  they  fought  for  their 
faith,  punished  the  faithless  and  chastised  their  pursuers. 
During  the  first  year  of  the  revolution  Matthias  died.  Be- 
fore his  death  he  assembled  all  his  sons  around  him  and 
strictly  charged  them  to  maintain  their  cause  fearlessly  and  to 
trust  in  God.  He  appointed  Simon,  as  the  wisest,  to  be  their 
counselor,  and  Juda,  the  bravest  and  boldest,  to  be  their 
general.  (The  name  Maccabi  has  been  explained  in  many 
difierent  ways ;  the  most  probable  of  the  various  opinions  is 
that  Maccabi  is  derived  from  "maccab,'' hammer,  and  the 
initials  of  the  device   emblazoned  upon  their  flag :  1D3  nD 


12  JUDA  MACCABI. 


riin^  D"'S^5n,  "Who  is  like  unto  thee  among  the  mighty,  O 
God?  ").  The  sons  mourned  their  loss,  and  hy  their  subse- 
quent deeds  proved  best  how  they  honored  his  memory  and 
respected  his  words. 

With  rare  heroism  Juda  led  his  small  army,  and  with  un- 
exampled bravery  he  attacked  the  numerous  hosts  of  the 
Syrians.  His  own  example  and  his  eloquent  words  tended 
to  inspire  his  followers  and  to  fill  them  with  zeal  for  their 
cause — the  cause  of  their  religion — that  no  danger,  however 
great  and  threatening,  could  destroy.  The  ravages  of  Appo- 
lonius,  who  brutally  massacred  the  innocent  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  he  stopped  by  killing  the  Syrian  general  and  de- 
feating his  army.  Seron,  governor  of  Coelesyria,  who  next 
took  command  of  the  Syrian  forces,  was  defeated  at  Beth 
Horon ;  a  third  army  of  over  47,000  men,  led  by  Nicanor 
and  Gorgias,  were  routed;  while  Lysias,  who  commanded 
a  fourth  army  of  60,000  men,  was  defeated  at  Beth  Zur  with 
heavy  losses.  After  these  brilliant  feats,  Juda  turned  his  at- 
tention to  Jerusalem,  which  was  still  garrisoned  by  Syrian 
troops.  Here  also  he  succeeded,  he  recaptured  the  citadel, 
drove  out  the  enemy,  and  took  possession  of  the  Temple. 
To  cleanse  it  and  to  rededicate  it  to  the  service  of  the  One 
God  was  his  main  care.  Amid  popular  rejoicing  he  erected 
a  new  altar  in  place  of  the  one  that  had  been  desecrated  by 
the  impure  sacrifices,  cast  out  the  statue  of  Jupiter  that  had 
defiled  the  sanctuary,  and  pure  offerings  of  thanksgiving 
once  more  burned  upon  the  altar.  During  the  succeeding 
eight  days,  these  festivities  were  observed,  in  commemoration 
of  which  joyous  event  the  Israelites  have  instituted  the  feast 
of  Chanuka  (dedication  of  the  temple)  during  the  eight  days 
succeeding  the  25th  of  Kislev,  with  the  lighting  of  special 
tapers  and  appropriate  prayers. 

But  the  battle  was  not  over  yet.  It  was  but  a  short  re- 
spite before  a  new  and  more  terrible  outbreak.    Antiochus, 


JUDA  MACCABI.  '  '    '33 


T"S^ 


however,  did  not  live  to  see  the  defeat  of  the  Israelites.  In 
the  year  164,  while  attempting  to  plunder  a  temple  at 
Elymais,  he  was  repulsed,  a  humiliation  which  deeply 
wounded  him.  About  the  same  time  he  received  intelligence 
of  the  success  of  Juda  and  the  defeat  of  his  armies,  which 
aggravated  a  disorder  he  had  contracted,  and  while  breathing 
vengeance  against  the  Judeans  he  was  seized  with  a  fit  of 
madness  and  died  on  the  way  to  Palestine,  suifering  fearful 
agonies.  Juda  now  applied  to  Rome  for  assistance,  but  from 
that  moment  fortune  seemed  to  have  forsaken  his  arms,  and 
he  suffered  defeat  until  he  died.  Antiochus  Eupator,  the  son 
of  Epiphanes,  was  but  nine  years  old  when  he  ascended  the 
throne,  with  Lysias  as  regent.  An  immense  army  was 
equipped  to  crush  the  successful  Jewish  insurgents.  In  this 
engagement  Eleazar,  the  brother  of  Juda,  lost  his  life,  being 
crushed  to  death  by  an  elephant.  Demetrius  Soter,  the  son 
of  Seleucus  Philopator,  dethroned  and  put  to  death  young 
Eupator  and  usurped  the  throne.  This  new  king  con- 
tinued the  war  of  extermination  against  the  Jews  and  was 
powerfully  supported  by  the  treacherous  High-priest  Alky- 
mus.  The  decisive  battle  was  at  hand.  Bera,  a  small  place, 
was  the  battle-field.  Juda  Maccabi  had  but  800  men  to 
oppose  the  tens  of  thousands  of  Syrians.  Yet  he  dared  op- 
pose them.  He  fought  like  a  lion.  It  was  a  long,  desperate 
and  heroic  struggle,  but  he  was  finally  overpowered.  He 
died  the  death  of  a  hero  (160  B.  C.)  His  bravery  and  hero- 
ism have  become  proverbial.  He  was  tenderly  lifted  from 
the  blood-stained  battle  ground,  and,  amid  the  lamentations 
and  wailings  of  all  Israelites,  his  brothers  buried  him  in 
Modin;  Juda  Maccabi  was  a  man  whose  equal  is  rarely 
if  ever  found,  and  the  fears  of  the  bereaved  brethren  and 
people,  of  what  might  be  the  results  of  his  death  were  well 
founded. 


14  JONATHAN  AND  SIMON. 


V. — JONATHAN  AND  SIMON. 

Two  of  the  brothers  of  Juda,  Eleazar  and  Jochanan,  had 
already  preceded  into  the  mysterious  hereafter  that  heroic 
Maccabi  who  was  the  pride  and  the  glory  of  his  people.  Jon- 
athan and  Simon  alone  were  left  to  continue  and  to  complete 
the  great  work  for  which  their  aged  father,  even  at  the  brink 
of  the  grave,  had  taken  up  arms,  and  for  which  their  three 
brothers  had  bled  and  died.  Jonathan  succeeded  Juda  and 
displayed  great  bravery  and  tact  in  the  protracted  war  for 
liberty.  The  grandson  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  Antiochus 
Theos,  now  ruled  Syria,  and  during  his  reign  Jonathan  at- 
tained high  honors.  But  it  was  only  a  passing  ray  of  sun- 
shine, closely  followed  by  a  dark  and  disastrous  cloud. 
Tryphon,  the  regent  of  the  young  King  Theos,  who  had  se- 
cretly planned  the  overthrow  of  his  monarch,  with  the  object 
in  view  of  supplanting  him  on  the  throne,  sought  to  tempt 
the  unsuspecting  Jonathan,  and  by  flatteries  and  promises 
induced  him  to  open  the  gates  of  Ptolemais  (Acco).  Justly 
fearing  this  favorite  of  the  king  as  a  mighty  obstacle  in  the 
execution  of  his  vile  scheme,  he  treacherously  caused  his 
death.  For  fourteen  years,  from  160  to  146  B.  C,  Jona- 
than had  skillfully  and  wisely  defended  the  cause  of  his 
people,  when,  with  him,  another  prop  of  the  Jewish  nation 
fell. 

Simon,  now  the  only  remaining  son  of  Matthias,  succeeded 
his  youngest  brother,  and  for  him  it  was  reserved  to  regain 
the  full  autonomy  and  independence  of  Judea,  which  had 
been  lost  since  the  destruction  of  the  Solomonian  temple 
under  Nebuchadnezzar.  He  dispersed  the  Syrian  garrisons 
in  the  fortresses  of  Judea,  he  fortified  Mt.  Zion  and  forced 
the  Syrians  to  recognize  the  independence  of  the  Jewish  State. 
Twenty-five  years  of  anguish,  of  bloodshed  and  of  sorrow 
had  passed  since  the  day  on  which  the  handful  of  zealous 


8IM0NIAN  ERA.  15 


men,  led  by  Matthias,  had  retreated  to  the  mountain  fast- 
nesses for  the  purpose  of  defending  thence  their  sacred 
rights,  until  Simon  was  recognized  prince  and  ruler  of  Judea. 
A  new  era  now  began,  the  Simonian,  replacing  the  Seleuce- 
dian,  which  ceased  after  a  period  of  about  166  years  —  from 
311  to  146  B.  C.  His  titles  of  prince  and  high-priest  were 
ratified  and  made  hereditary  by  popular  voice ;  in  commemo- 
ration of  which  event  coins  were  struck,  some  of  which  have 
been  preserved  to  this  day. 

Now  that  the  swords  rested  in  their  sheaths  and  peace 
smiled  around,  Simon  devoted 'his  energy  and  wisdom  to  the 
introduction  of  useful  institutions.  He  called  into  existence 
the  Sanhedrin,  a  judiciary  which  proved  a  strong  protective 
wall  for  the  cause  of  the  frequently-endangered  reUgion. 
But,  as  if  preordained  that  none  of  that  noble  Hasmonean 
family  should  die  a  natural  death,  this  wise  and  noble  man, 
too,  met  not  only  with  an  unnatural,  but  a  most  revolting 
end.  In  the  eighth  year  of  his  peaceful  and  prosperous 
reign,  while  traveling  through  Palestine,  with  the  object  in 
view  of  personally  investigating  the  condition  of  the  country, 
and  of  improving  where  improvement  was  required,  he  came 
to  Dok,  a  city  near  Jericho,  where  at  the  house  and  by  the 
instigation  of  his  own  son-in-law  he  was  treacherously  mur- 
dered. 

(Jochanan  had  died  long  before,  having  been  kiUed  in  a 
contest  with  the  Arabs.) 

VI. — THE  JEWS  AFTER  SIMON. — SANHEDRIN. 

Under  Grecian  rule,  the  Jews  gradually  adopted  the  lan- 
guage and  the  knowledge  of  their  masters.  Jewish  doctrine, 
connected  and  united  with  Greek  philosophy  and  the  contem- 
plation of  the  world,  called  forth  the  so-called  Apocrypha,  t.«., 
excluded  writings — writings  which  have  not  been  admitted 
into  the  collection  of  the  twenty-four  holy  books  (Canon).    To 


16  THE  SANHEDRIN. 


these  apocryphal  writings  belong  the  Books  of  the  Maccabees, 
Book  of  Wisdom,  Book  of  Sirach,  Judith,  Tobias,  Baruch, 
and  others.  But  with  the  language  and  knowledge  of  the 
Greeks  they  (the  Jews)  also  acquired  their  bad  habits  and 
immoral  practices.  To  the  great  misfortune  of  the  people, 
the  high-priestly  office  was  degraded  by  godless  men  —  men 
who,  like  Jason,  loved  heathen  pleasures  better  than  their 
faith,  and  whose  pernicious  example  had  a  like  effect  upon 
the  masses,  who,  following  their  guides,  soon  caused  the 
decadence  of  religion.  Fortunately  for  the  Israelites,  they 
never  lacked  men  who  stood  up  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
divine  laws,  who  called  into  existence  institutions  for  the  dis- 
semination of  light,  and  who  aimed  at  the  fear  of  God  and 
the  j)ractice  of  faith.  Such  an  institution  they  had  in  the 
great  Sanhedrin,  which,  it  is  said,  originated  under  Ezra,  but 
had  remained  inactive  and  unobserved  until  then.  The  men 
of  the  great  Synod  collected  and  completed  the  Canon ;  they 
introduced  the  "  Sch'ma  Israel,"  and  they  are  the  authors  of 
the  first  and  last  three  benedictions  of  the  "  Sh'mone  Esre," 
and  of  the  prayer  after  meals.  Many  of  those  pious  and 
God-fearing  men  have  uttered  beautiful  and  instructive  senti- 
ments and  morals,  of  which  many  are  preserved  to  this  day, 
and  collected  in  the  Ethics  of  the  Fathers,  a  part  of  the 
Mishna.  Thus,  for  instance,  Simon  the  Just  said :  "  The 
world  rests  upon  three  things,  viz.,  law,  instruction  and  char- 
ity." Antigonus  of  Socho  said :  "  Be  not  like  servants  who 
serve  their  masters  for  the  sake  of  reward." 

The  same  body  advocated  also  the  erection  or  establish- 
ment of  houses  of  prayer  and  instruction.  Such  places  of 
assembly  for  the  purpose  of  devotion  and  instruction  were 
called  synagogues,  in  which  three  times  daily  prayers  were 
offered — Shacharith,  morning;  Mincha,  vesper,  and  Marib, 
evening  prayers.  On  the  Sabbath  and  festivals,  and  also  on 
the  second  and  fifth  days  of  the  week,  corresponding  with 


THE  SANHEDRIN  AT  JERUSALEM.  17 


our  Mondays  and  Thursdays,  portions  of  the  Pentateuch 
were  read  aloud  before  the  assembled  congregations.  At  the 
time  of  the  Syrian  oppression  under  Antiochus,  when  the 
scrolls  of  law  were  either  burnt  or  defiled,  they  read  some  por- 
tions of  the  Prophets  in  place  of  the  "  Tora."  This  substi- 
tute is  known  even  to  this  day  under  the  name  of  "  Haftora," 
or  closing  reading.  The  people,  affected  by  Greek  culture, 
having  become  strangers  to  their  own  language,  the  Tora, 
and  later  also  the  Prophets,  had  often  to  be  suitably  trans- 
lated and  commented  upon.  Thus  the  Targumin,  i.  e.,  trans- 
lations and  sermons,  came  into  practice.  The  scribes  and 
savants  were  highly  esteemed  by  the  people  and  replaced  the 
prophets  of  old. 

Vn. — SANHEDRIN  AT  JERUSALEM. 

The  men  of  learning,  whose  main  object  was  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  Jewish  faith,  did  not  merely  seek  to  cultivate  the 
study  of  the  law,  or  to  develop  and  thus  to  hand  it  down 
from  father  to  son  (tradition),  but  they  likewise  understood 
jurisprudence,  and  established  a  court  of  law,  with  the  power 
and  duty  to  enact  religious  ordinances  and  to  decide  in  legal 
cases.  This  tribunal,  consisting  of  seventy-one  men,  was 
known  by  the  name  of  Sanhedrin,  and  had  its  seat  at  Jeru- 
salem. In  this  body  was  vested  the  highest  power,  to  which 
even  the  high-priests  and  princes  were  subject.  They  decided 
and  determined  upon  war  or  peace,  and  had  jurisdiction  over 
life  and  death.  The  chief  of  that  court  was  called  Nassi, 
prince  or  patriarch ;  second  to  him  stood  the  Ab-Beth-Din, 
or  chief  justice.  Members  of  that  august  body  were  spe- 
cially sanctified  by  a  ceremony  called  "  Semicha. "  This 
ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Nassi,  and  consisted  in  lay- 
ing his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  new  member.  The  ses- 
sions of  that  body  were  held  in  the  great  hall  before  the 
Temple,  and  were  open  to  the  public.    Besides  decisions  in 


18  JOHN  HYRCANOS. 


questions  of  faith  and  law,  the  Sanhedrin  also  determined 
the  beginning  of  the  moon  (moled),  new  moon,  by  which  the 
festivals  were  appointed  and  celebrated.  Men  especially 
charged  watched  for  the  first  appearance  of  the  moon,  which 
was  thereupon  quickly  communicated  from  place  to  place, 
either  by  couriers  or  by  a  fire  lit  upon  some  hill-tops.  Under 
the  direction  of  the  Nassi  there  was  also  the  high-school  at 
Jerusalem,  in  which  lectures  and  debates  upon  religious  sub- 
jects were  had,  and  from  that  high-school  graduated  judges 
and  teachers.  Besides  the  great  Synhedrin  at  Jerusalem, 
there  existed  minor  Synhedria,  consisting  of  twenty- three 
members,  in  every  large  country  congregation;  while  at 
small  places  the  judiciary  consisted  of  three  persons,  com- 
posing a  Beth-Din,  or  minor  court. 

VIII. — JOHN  HYRCANOS. 

After  the  death  of  Simon,  his  son,  John  Hyrcanos,  so 
called  from  having  defeated  Kendebaios  the  Hyrcanian,  be- 
came prince  and  high-priest.  During  his  reign  Judea  pros- 
pered and  increased,  both  in  territory  and  in  magnificence. 
Intestine  strifes  in  Syria  diverted  the  enemy's  attention  from 
Judea,  and  the  Judeans  improved  this  time  and  opportunity 
in  regaining  all  the  cities  that  they  had  previously  lost.  The 
Samaritans  and  Idumeans  were  subjugated  by  John  Hyr- 
canos, who  forced  them  to  embrace  Judaism,  an  act  of  intol- 
erance which  bore  bitter  fruits.  The  Samaritans,  originally 
heathen  colonists  whom  Salmanassar,  after  the  overthrow  of 
Israel,  had  colonized  in  that  territory,  and  especially  in  Sa- 
maria, although  familiar  with  the  biblical  writings  of  the 
Jews,  nevertheless,  praticed  idolatry,  and  could  not,  there- 
fore, be  recognized  as  Jews.  Moreover,  they  had  calumni- 
ated and  antagonized  the  Jews  since  the  days  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah.  On  being  forbidden  to  take  part  in  the  erection 
of  the  second  temple,  they  had  built  one  on  Mt.  Gerizim, 


JOHN  HYRCANOS.  19 


where  it  is  said  they  worshiped  a  dove.  The  breach  already 
existing  between  the  Jews  and  Samaritans  thus  became 
V  idened  until  every  trace  of  a  common  faith  vanished.  That 
temple  was  destroyed  by  John  Hyrcanos,  who  conquered 
Samaria  and  forcibly  converted  her  inhabitants.  In  like 
manner  he  chastised  the  Idumeans,  who  had  been  hostile  to 
the  Jews.  By  his  victories,  Hyrcanos  extended  his  domin- 
ions, which  soon  rivaled  in  extent  the  territory  of  Solomon. 
Toward  the  end  of  his  reign,  however,  he  excited  the  pop- 
ular will  against  him.  On  one  occasion,  namely,  while  cele- 
brating one  of  his  victories,  he  requested  his  invited  guests 
te  tell  him  if  he  ever  had  been  recreant  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duties.  Thereupon  one  of  the  assembled  men  arose  and 
said :  "  No,  but  you  ought  to  resign  the  crown  of  priesthood 
and  be  satisfied  with  your  worldly  power,  because  you  are 
the  son  of  a  bondwoman,  and  as  such  not  lawfully  entitled 
to  be  high-priest."  Hyrcanos,  deeply  wounded  because  of 
this  insult  offered  to  the  memory  of  his  mother,  ordered  a 
strict  investigation  of  the  matter,  and  when  it  was  found 
that  the  accusation  was  unfounded,  and  that  his  mother 
never  had  been  a  slave,  he  punished  the  traducer,  cut  loose 
from  the  Pharisees  and  became  a  Sadducee.  In  the  thirty- 
first  year  of  his  reign  he  died,  leaving  five  sons :  Aristobu- 
lus,  Antigonus,  Alexander,  Absalom,  and  one  whose  name 
has  been  lost.  Aristobulus,  the  eldest,  was  to  be  high-priest, 
while  to  his  wife  he  bequeathed  the  crown.  Aristobulus, 
however,  was  a  very  ambitious  man,  and  not  content  with 
the  crown  of  priesthood,  aimed  also  at  the  princely  diadem. 
To  accomplish  his  end  he  resorted  to  the  most  brutal  and 
cruel  means.  His  brothers,  with  the  exception  of  Antigonus, 
were  thrown  into  prison,  and  his  mother  he  caused  to  perish 
of  hunger.  His  wife,  Salomcf,  supported  him  in  all  his  vile 
schemes,  and  finally  persuaded  him  to  order  the  execution 
of  his  brother  Antigonus.    Tortured  by  remorse  and  lashed 


THE  END  OF  THE  HASM0NEAN8. 


by  his  own  outraged  conscience,  Aristobulus  died  after  the 
short  reign  of  but  one  year. 

IX. — THE  END  OF  THE  HASM0NEAN8. 

Salome",  the  widowed  queen  of  Aristobulus,  soon  after  her 
husband's  death  opened  the  prison  doors,  behind  which  her 
brothers-in-law  had  been  confined,  and  bestowed  her  hand 
ia  marriage  upon  one  of  them,  Alexander  Janai,  in  whose 
hands  she  placed  the  reins  of  government.  Alexander's 
whole  reign  was  characterized  by  warfare,  which  was  at- 
tended by  chahging  fortunes.  His  love  for  war,  however, 
caused  him  to  shed  rivers  of  innocent  blood.  Nor  was  he  in 
great  favor  with  the  people,  he  being  a  Sadducee,  as  his  imme- 
diate predecessors  had  been,  while  the  masses  clung  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Pharisees. 

Simon  ben  Shetach,  a  brother  of  Queen  Salom^,  who 
was  a  Pharisee  and  had  founded  a  Pharisaic  Synhedrin  and 
several  academies,  was  compelled  to  flee  to  escape  the  ill-will 
of  his  royal  brother-in-law.  Nor  were  his  fears  unfounded, 
for  Alexander  caused  800  Pharisees  to  be  put  to  death,  while 
he  wreaked  his  vengeance  most  signally  upon  6,000  rebels. 
But  the  end  of  this  cruel  king  had  come.  While  beleaguering 
Ragaba,  he  died,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-seven  years,  leaving 
behind  him  two  sons,  Hyrcanos  II.  and  AristobulusII.  Sa- 
lome", who,  as  the  wife  of  Alexander,  was  called  Alexandra, 
now  sided  with  the  Pharisees,  the  more  so  since  it  was  the  wish 
of  her  dying  husband  that  she  should  seek  to  propitiate  that 
party  at  whatever  sacrifice.  Simon  ben  Shetach  was  now 
recalled,  and  he,  with  Judah  ben  Tabbai  as  Synhedrial  chief, 
promulgated  religious  laws  for  the  fortification  of  the  faith. 
Alexandra  gave  her  regal  sanction  to  those  laws.  She  ruled 
nine  years  after  her  husband's  death,  appointing  Hyrcanos 
II.  her  successor  and  high-priest.  But  Hyrcanos  did  not  en- 
joy his  title  in  peace  nor  for  a  long  time.     For  Aristobulus 


THE  END  OF  THE  HASMONEANS.  21 

II.,  his  brother,  jealous  of  the  preferment,  rebelled  against 
and  defeated  him.  Hyrcanos,  a  weak-minded  man,  took  the 
defeat  good-naturedly  and  withdrew  from  public  life,  while 
the  more  ambitious  and  fiery  Aristobulus  assumed  the  throne 
and  pontificate.  For  three  years  following  all  was  peaceable 
and  quiet,  and  might  have  remained  so  but  for  the  interven- 
tion of  Antipater,  an  Idumean,  full  of  ambition  and  crafti- 
ness. He  allied  himself  to  the  defeated  Hyrcanos,  who  had 
lived  contentedly  in  his  retirement,  and  succeeded  in  arous- 
ing within  him  the  desire  of  regaining  the  lost  throne. 

Aristobulus  applied  for  help  to  Pompey,  the  Roman  gene- 
ral, who  was  invading  Syria  at  that  time,  but  Hyrcanos  like- 
wise sought  the  same  influence  in  behalf  of  his  cause. 
Pompey  seemed  to  incline  toward  the  elder  brother,  and 
Aristobulus,  of  course  unwilling  to  abide  by  that  decision, 
assumed  a  warlike  attitude  toward  the  Roman.  Pompey, 
finding  Aristobulus  on  the  war-path,  marched  against  Jeru- 
salem, held  by  Hyrcanos'  brother,  and  took  the  city  on  a 
Sabbath,  12,000  people  losing  their  lives.  In  the  heat  of  the 
battle,  and  while  the  sword  destroyed  and  cut  ofi"  many  a 
valuable  and  innocent  life,  Pompey  visited  the  temple,  where 
the  priests,  unaffected  by  the  ravages  without,  continued 
their  several  functions.  This  true  devotion  touched  the 
general,  and  he  gave  orders  not  to  interfere  with  the  priests 
nor  with  their  offices.  Aristobulus  was  taken  prisoner  and 
carried  to  Rome  to  grace  the  conqueror's  triumphal  entry 
into  the  city. 

Judea  lost  in  part  her  independence,  and  became  a  Roman 
tributary,  with  Hyrcanos  as  Ethnarch.  Hyrcanos,  old  and 
feeble,  soon  thereafter  transferred  his  political  power  to  that 
wily  and  ambitious  Idumean,  Antipater,  who  succeeded  in 
winning  the  favor  of  Rome  and  of  Julius  Csesar.  Thus  the 
Hasmoneans  lost  the  throne  forever,  and  their  loss  was 
caused  by  the  feud  of  two  brothers. 


22  HEROD. 


X. — HEROD. 

The  crafty  Antipater  had  succeeded  in  gaining  unlimited 
influence  with  the  Ethnarch ;  in  fact,  he  was  the  power  be- 
hind the  throne.  Under  such  circumstances  it  was  easy  for 
him  to  provide  bountifully  for  his  four  sons.  One  of  them, 
Herod,  he  appointed  Governor  of  Galilee,  and  the  son, 
profiting  by  the  example  of  his  father,  knew  how  to  in- 
crease his  power  and  to  rise  step  by  step,  until  finally  he  be- 
came master  and  ruler  of  all  Judea.  While  yet  the  governor 
of  a  small  province,  he  showed  the  bent  of  his  character. 
He  defied  the  authority  of  the  Sanhedrin,  which  no  one 
ever  had  the  presumption  to  do  before.  Nor  did  his  greater 
power  tend  to  make  him  weaker.  Soon  after  his  coronation 
he  displayed  a  bitter  hatred  against  the  members  and  parti- 
Bans  of  the  Hasmonean  family,  although  he  had  married 
Mariamne,  the  beautiful  grand-daughter  of  Hyrcanos  II.,  and 
by  this  alliance  had  become  related  to  the  Hasmoneans. 
Feeling  himself  insecure  as  long  as  any  of  that  family  lived, 
he  caused  the  death  of  the  aged  Hyrcanos,  while  he  disposed 
of  his  young  brother-in-law,  the  sixteen-year-old  brother  of 
Mariamne,  in  a  most  brutal  manner.  This  youth  he  induced 
to  go  bathing  with  some  of  his  mercenaries,  who  were  in- 
structed to  drown  him.  The  unsuspecting  victim  of  Herod's 
perfidy  went  into  the  water,  where,  under  the  cover  of  ap- 
proaching darkness,  his  head  was  held  under  the  water  till 
he  expired. 

For  this  act  of  inhumanity,  which  became  known  in  spite 
of  all  the  precaution  which  Herod  had  taken,  he  was  sum- 
moned to  Rome  to  defend  himself  before  a  tribunal.  Bribing 
his  judges,  he  secured  his  acquittal.  During  his  absence, 
Salome",  the  worthy  sister  of  Herod,  heartlessly  removed  all 
the  surviving  members  of  the  Hasmonean  family,  except  one, 
a  young  child,  that  was  miraculously  saved,  and  Mariamne,  the 


HEROD.  23 


beautiful  and  truly  beloved  wife  of  Herod,  who  was,  however, 
soon  among  the  victims.  On  leaving  for  Rome  he  left  orders 
that  in  case  of  his  conviction  Mariamne  should  be  killed,  be- 
cause he  would  not  allow  her  to  become  the  wife  of  another.  The 
man  who  was  charged  with  this  odd  mission,  though  bound  to 
secrecy,  acquainted  Mariamne  with  his  master's  orders,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  revelation  the  returning  husband  was  coldly 
received  by  his  wife.  This  behavior  did  not  escape  the  notice 
of  the  sister  of  Herod,  who  was  not  slow  in  pouring  into  her 
brother's  ears  the  poison  of  jealousy,  completing  the  evil  de- 
signs formed  in  her  brother's  absence. 

Herod,  lashed  into  fury,  accused  his  innocent  wife  of  faith- 
lessness, and  the  Synhedrin,  misled  by  the  evidence  of  per- 
jured witnesses,  found  her  guilty  and  pronounced  the  solemn 
verdict  with  the  sentence  of  death. 

But  no  sooner  was  the  sentence  executed  than  Herod  re- 
gretted his  rash  act  and  was  well-nigh  distracted.  His  deeds 
of  violence  not  only  caused  him  the  keenest  pangs  of  a 
remorse-stricken  conscience,  but  engendered  the  hatred  of 
the  people,  and  this  hatred  grew  with  his  deliberate  violation 
of  the  most  sacred  precepts  of  religion.  But,  once  steeped  in 
blood,  he  could  not  return,  but  pursued  steadily  his  blood- 
thirsty career.  Finding  the  Sanhedrin  opposed  to  him,  he 
had  all  of  them  killed  except  two  (Shemaya  and  Abtalyon.) 

He  appointed  and  removed  high-priests  according  to  his 
pleasure,  and  in  order  to  further  win  and  secure  the  favor  of 
the  Romans,  he  aimed  at  Romanizing  all  Palestine,  by 
bringing  about  an  amalgamation  of  Jews  and  heathens.  In 
honor  of  the  Roman  Emperor  he  built  the  city  of  Caesarea, 
theaters  for  gladiatorial  combats,  while  at  the  portico  of  the 
temple  he  placed  the  Roman  eagle,  which  was  considered  a 
violation  of  the  Jewish  religion.  He  died  in  the  seventieth 
year  of  his  age,  amid  the  most  agonizing  pains  of  a  long  and 
torturing  malady.    The  people  throughout  the  country  re- 


^.  .       Of  Tlf* 


24  HILLEL  AND  SHAMMAI. 

garded  this  as  a  punishment  from  God.  Immediately  before 
he  expired  he  ordered  one  of  his  sons  to  be  killed,  and  re- 
quested his  sister  that  as  soon  as  he  should  have  expired, 
she  should  assemble  all  the  nobility  of  the  land  at  Jericho, 
and  have  them  killed.  In  that  barbarous  manner  he  wished 
to  secure  a  popular  mourning  at  his  funeral.  This  order, 
however,  was  not  carried  out,  and  the  day  of  his  death  be- 
came one  of  joy,  as  also  each  anniversary  thereof  for  many 
years  thereafter.  (About  the  last  year  of  Herod's  reign, 
Jesus,  the  founder  of  the  Christian  religion,  was  born  at  Naz- 
areth of  Jewish  parents.) 

Herod  left  a  will,  according  to  which  Judea  was  to  be  di- 
vided between  his  three  sons,  Archelaus,  Antipater  and 
Philip.  These  divisions  remained  separate  until  Agrippa 
I.,  grandson  of  Herod,  reunited  them,  having  secured  the 
country  and  the  title  of  king  from  the  Emperors  Caligula 
and  Claudius  in  41  A.  C.  In  the  year  44  the  country  be- 
came a  Roman  province,  and  was  governed  by  Roman 
officers. 

XI. — HILLEL  AND  SHAMMAI. 

The  Jewish  state  was  terribly  convulsed,  and  the  birth  of 
the  daughter  religion,  Christianity,  did  in  nowise  contribute 
to  the  re-establishment  of  the  disturbed  equilibrium.  This 
unsatisfactory  condition  induced  the  learned  men  and  schol- 
ars of  the  people  to  provide  against  the  infringement  upon 
the  Mosaic  Law.  In  order  to  carry  out  that  plan  they  im- 
pressed upon  the  popular  mind  the  traditional  laws  that  had 
been  promulgated  since  the  Babylonian  exile.  These  laws 
formed  a  fence  (Geder)  around  the  laws  of  Moses.  Those 
men,  rarely  gifted  with  intellect,  became  rabbis,  i.  e.,  teachers 
and  guides  in  Israel,  and  established  schools  in  which  re- 
ligion and  science  were  cultivated.  Among  those  who  ac- 
quired particular  celebrity  were   Hillel  and  Shammai,  two 


HILLEL  AND  SHAMMAI.  25 

teachers,  who,  in  those  troublous  and  dark  days,  contributed 
vastly  to  the  maintenance  of  Judaism,  if,  indeed,  they  were 
not  chiefly  instrumental  in  its  preservation. 

Hillel  was  prominent,  not  only  because  of  his  great  learn- 
ing and  depth  of  thought,  but  also  on  account  of  his  gentle, 
kind  and  humane  character.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of 
David,  but  so  poor  when  he  came  to  Jerusalem  from  Baby- 
lon that  he  was  forced  to  earn  a  scanty  livelihood  by  cutting 
wood.  Driven  by  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  he  desired  to  attend 
the  lectures  of  the  academy,  where  Shemaya  and  Abtalyon 
lectured,  but  unless  he  could  fee  the  porter  he  could  not  gain 
admission.  Consequently  he  was  compelled  to  devote  the 
greater  part  of  his  income  to  purchasing  the  right  of  a 
student  at  the  academy.  And  when  once,  on  a  cold  winter 
day,  unable  to  satisfy  the  doorkeeper,  he  was  refused  admis- 
sion, Hillel  climbed  up  to  the  flat  roof  of  the  school-house, 
where  he  could  hear  the  lectures  of  the  rabbis.  There  he 
became  so  absorbed  in  thought,  and  so  rapt  was  his  atten- 
tion, that  he  took  no  notice  of  the  snow,  which  fell  thick  and 
fast,  and  soon  covered  him  entirely.  He  was  found  on  the 
following  morning,  numb  and  almost  helpless,  when  he  was 
brought  into  a  warm  room.  By  proper  treatment  he  soon 
regained  perfect  health  and  strength,  and  when  the  details  of 
his  adventure  became  known,  he  was  enrolled  among  the 
regular  attendants  and  received  gratuitous  instruction.  By 
his  diligent  application  he  soon  gained  the  rank  and  the 
name  of  a  rabbi,  and  in  course  of  time  was  advanced  to  the 
office  of  Nassi.  His  wisdom  and  learning  were  wedded  to 
rare  patience,  modesty  and  love  of  mankind.  Of  the  many 
instances  that  could  be  mentioned  in  proof  of  these  exalted 
virtues,  one  may  find  a  place  here.  A  heathen,  whom  Sham- 
mai  had  rudely  turned  away,  came  to  Hillel,  expressing  the 
desire  of  becoming  a  Jew,  provided  he  could  be  taught  the 
doctrines  of  Judaism  while  standing  upon  one  leg.     Hillel, 


26  THE  ROMAN  PROCURATORS. 

instead  of  spurning  him,  patiently  submitted  even  to  this 
seemingly  insolent  request,  and  said :  "  'Love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself; '  that  is  the  essence  of  our  religion;  all  the  rest  is 
amplification,  which  thou  wilt  learn  later." 

Shammai,  although  of  quite  a  different  disposition — he 
being  of  an  irascible,  impetuous  and  at  times  violent  temper 
— was  a  man  likewise  distinguished  by  penetration  and  pro- 
found learning.  Both  Hillel  and  Shammai  were  at  the  head 
of  large  schools,  which  often  expressed  opinions  widely  dif- 
ferent from  each  another.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  views  of 
Hillel  and  his  school  (Beth  Hillel)  prevailed.  His  dignified 
post  as  Nassi  of  the  Sanhedrin,  Hillel  maintained  for  a  great 
number  of  years,  even  after  he  had  completed  the  unusual 
four-score  years  of  his  life.  The  Nassiship  became  heredi- 
tary in  his  family  for  ten  generations.  Of  those  sons  and 
descendants  of  Hillel  may  be  mentioned  prominently  his 
son,  Gamaliel  I.,  who  established  the  great  and  celebrated 
academy  at  Jabne  (Jamnia),  and  introduced  many  useful 
ordinances  and  regulations,  and  his  grand-son,  Simon  ben 
Gamaliel,  who  was  the  author  of  the  saying :  "  The  study  of 
the  Law  is  not  the  principal  thing,  but  the  practice  thereof." 

XII. — THE  ROMAN  PROCURATORS. 

After  the  death  of  Herod,  there  was  such  widespread  dis- 
satisfaction in  Palestine,  both  among  those  that  wished  to 
govern  and  those  that  were  to  be  governed,  that  Rome  as- 
sumed direction  of  affairs  in  Palestine,  by  appointing  procu- 
rators. 

The  will  of  Herod  making  a  division  in  Judea  did  not 
tend  to  pacify  the  troubled  elements. 

These  officials,  almost  without  exception,  oppressed  and 
maltreated  the  Jews  to  such  an  extent  that  every  change  of 
procurator  was  from  bad  to  worse. 

Pontius  Pilate,  about  37  C.  E.,  was  one  of  those  demons 


THE  ROMAN  PROCURATORS. 


in  human  form  who  mercilessly  trampled  upon  the  most  sa- 
cred feelings  of  the  people,  whose  life,  property  and  honor 
were  to  him  alike  of  no  consideration.  And  yet,  cruel, 
heartless  and  unfeeling  as  he  was,  he  found  his  superior,  in 
all  those  qualities  which  make  man  detestable,  in  the  last  of 
the  procurators,  Florus.  This  tyrant  fairly  drove  the  Jews 
to  despair,  but  then  they  made  front  against  him,  and 
bravely  fought  for  their  rights.  Gallus,  the  Syrian  governor, 
who  came  to  the  assistance  of  Florus,  was  repulsed  by  Simon 
ben  Gioras.  This  momentary  success  aroused  new  hope  in 
the  hearts  of  the  Jews,  and  they  boldly  determined  to  shake 
off  the  Roman  yoke;  the  more  so  since  they  expected  to 
find  a  powerful  ally  in  Artaban,  the  Parthian  king.  The 
warlike  party,  the  Zealots,  were  in  the  majority,  and  out- 
voted the  peace  party,  which  was  impotent,  while  those  hot- 
headed patriots  fanned  into  flame  the  embers  of  rebellion 
against  the  Romans.  Nero,  who  was  then  Emperor  of  Rome, 
on  hearing  of  this  insurrectionary  movement,  sent  his  gene- 
ral, Vespasian,  against  the  Jews.  But  their  bravery  never 
forsook  them;  as  not  only  Vespasian,  but  even  Titus  and 
Trajan,  could  attest.  The  decisive  battle  was  fought  at  Jota- 
pata,  a  fortress  in  Gahlee.  This  fortification  was  held  by 
Josephus  Flavins,  the  celebrated  historian.  Vespasian  de- 
vised many  ingenious  plans  and  resorted  to  all  kinds  of  bold 
stratagems,  and  threw  up  ramparts,  but  the  Jews  threw  them 
down  and  killed  the  men  employed  in  their  construction. 
For  forty-seven  days  that  small  fortress  withstood  the  at- 
tacks of  60,000  Romans,  but  at  last  it  fell,  and  then  only  by 
the  treachery  of  a  deserter;  40,000  Jews  lost  their  lives, 
and  12,000  were  taken  prisoners.  Josephus  fled  to  a  cave, 
where  he  found  forty  other  men.  He  asked  them  to  surren- 
der to  the  Romans,  but  finding  them  resolved  rather  to 
die,  he  pretended  to  share  their  bravery.  It  was  decided 
by  lot  who  were  to  be  the  victims,  and  who  the  executioner. 


28  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM  AND  THE  TEMPLE. 

• 

He  managed  that  he  and  another  were  spared  to  the  last. 
The  two  then  went  forth,  threw  themselves  at  Vespasian's 
feet,  were  pardoned,  and  received  rich  presents.  Vespasian 
returned  to  Rome  to  receive  the  crown  of  the  Caesars  (69 
C.  E.),  and  sent  his  son  Titus  to  continue  the  war  in  Pal- 
estine. 

XIII. — DESTRUCTION  OP  JERUSALEM  AND  THE  TEMPLE. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  70  C.  E.,  Titus  marched  upon 
Jerusalem  with  a  great  army.  The  bitter  feuds  that  had 
raged  in  the  city  between  the  Zealots  and  the  peace  party, 
and  which  had  tended  to  considerably  weaken  their  forces, 
now  ceased,  and  both  parties  united  for  a  bold  and  desperate 
attack  against  the  Romans.  The  siege  was  protracted,  the 
most  daring  attacks  were  executed  and  the  most  ingenious 
plans  carried  out  .by  the  Romans ;  with  rare  boldness  and 
bravery  the  Jews  withstood  them.  This  resistance  exasper- 
ated the  Romans,  who  now  applied  every  possible  means  to 
capture  the  fortified  suburb,  Bethesda,  which  they  succeeded 
in  doing  by  the  employment  of  warlike  engines.  After  Be- 
thesda was  taken,  the  Jews  were  asked  to  surrender,  but  they 
refused,  preferring  the  most  unequal  contest  to  a  debasing 
capitulation.  The  Romans  proceeded  to  storm  the  city  with 
their  engines,  successfully  repeated  their  attacks,  and  after 
two  months  they  took  Acra,  the  fortress  near  the  temple 
mount,  which,  being  surrounded  by  a  high,  double  wall, 
resisted  for  some  time  the  implements  of  destruction  brought 
into  play  by  the  Romans.  In  the  meantime,  the  famine  in 
Jerusalem  had  assumed  great  proportions ;  indeed,  the  Avorst 
was  at  hand;  there  were  no  provisions  of  any  kind  to  be 
found  in  the  city,  and  the  poor,  unfortunate  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem  died  by  the  hundreds  of  hunger.  The  streets  be- 
came filled  with  the  unburied  dead ;  this  produced  pestilence, 
which  claimed  untold  victims.     At  this  pass  Rabbi  Jochanan 


DESTRUCTION  OP  JERUSALEM  AND  THE  TEMPLE.      29 

ben  Saccai,  a  disciple  of  Hillel,  raised  his  voice  in  favor  of  a 
surrender  of  the  city,  but  in  vain ;  his  words  were  disre- 
garded ;  the  Zealots  were  stubbornly  determined  not  to  yield, 
but  to  fight  as  long  as  there  was  breath  in  them.  The  fatal 
moment  drew  nearer  and  nearer.  The  Romans,  driven  to  mad- 
ness by  the  futility  of  their  efforts,  at  last  set  fire  to  a  tower 
filled  with  wood.  This  tower,  being  near  the  wall,  commu- 
nicated the  fire  to  it,  and  now  all  was  lost.  Life  and  property 
were  set  at  naught;  one  thing  alone,  the  sanctuary,  they 
wished  to  save,  but  in  vain ;  the  Roman  hirelings  forced  their 
way  into  the  city,  where  a  fearful  carnage  ensued.  Like  fu- 
ries, the  Romans  only  desired  to  destroy  and  to  kill ;  one  of 
them  hurled  a  burning  torch  into  the  sanctuary ;  it  caught 
fire,  and  Mt.  Zion,  with  its  beautiful  temple,  became  a 
smoking  ruin,  Jerusalem  a  heap  of  ashes.  This  sad  calamity 
occurred  on  the  anniversary  of  the  destruction  of  the  first 
temple  (by  Nebuchadnezzar,  about  600  years  previously),  on 
the  ninth  day  of  the  fifth  month,  Ab,  which  day  up  to  now 
is  the  most  important  historical  day  of  mourning  and  fasting 
for  the  Israelites.  The  Jewish  State  had  ceased  to  be.  Fully 
1,000,000  human  lives  were  lost  in  this  battle  and  100,000 
Israelites  were  sold  into  slavery.  Crowned  with  victory, 
Titus  returned  to  Rome  to  celebrate  his  triumphs.  The  holy 
vessels  of  the  temple  were  exhibited  as  trophies,  triumphal 
arches  were  erected,  and  the  most  eminent  Israelites,  among 
whom  was  Simon  ben  Gioras,  were  tortured  and  executed. 
In  addition  to  all  this,  coins  were  struck  to  perpetuate  this 
brilliant  feat  of  the  Roman  arms.  The  coin  bearing  the  in- 
scription, Judea  Capta^  represented  the  conquered  Judea  by 
a  widow  lamenting  beneath  a  palm-tree,  and  scorned  and 
derided  by  a  Roman.  We  can  not,  of  course,  assign  the 
cause  of  this  great  calamity  with  any  degree  of  precision, 
though  it  may  safely  be  assumed  that  the  godlessness  and 
still  more  the  intestine  conflicts  and  feuds  of  the  Jews  of 


30  BEN  SACCAI  AND  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

those  days  were  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for  that  ter- 
rible misfortune. 

XIV. — RABBI  JOCHANAN  BEN  SACCAI  AND  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

Judea  was  lost,  the  Jewish  State  had  ceased  to  exist ;  Ju- 
daism, however,  lived ;  the  Jewish  religion  was  saved,  and 
will  ever  be  protected  by  the  Eternal,  lest  it  perish.  Close 
upon  the  heels  of  the  political  catastrophe,  men  arose 
who  were  the  saviors  of  their  faith.  Such  a  man  was  Rabbi 
Jochanan  ben  Saccai,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made  al- 
ready, and  who,  a  faithful  disciple  of  Hillel,  had  acquired 
vast  knowledge,  extensive  learning  and  noble  virtues.  While 
yet  the  siege  of  the  Romans  lasted,  he  counseled  peaceful 
submission,  but  finding  his  words  disregarded,  he  determined 
upon  helping  his  brethren  in  a  different  way.  He  caused  the 
report  to  spread  that  he  was  sick ;  he  then  feigned  death,  was 
put  into  a  coffin,  as  he  had  previously  arranged  with  his 
friends  and  disciples,  and  thus  succeeded  in  being  carried 
without  the  gates  of  the  city.  He  sought  the  Roman  gene- 
ral, Vespasian,  to  request  of  him  some  favors.  The  plan,  so 
oddly  yet  ingeniously  conceived,  was  successfully  carried' 
into  effect.  The  Roman's  confidence  was  won,  and  that  all- 
powerful  general  granted  the  peaceful  rabbi  the  privilege  of 
establishing  an  academy  at  Jabne  (Jamnia). 

This  seat  of  learning  soon  flourished,  and  out  of  its  walls 
came  forth  the  wisest  men  and  teachers.  Indeed,  it  may 
safely  be  assumed  that  the  school  at  Jabne,  and  other  similar 
institutions  erected  about  the  same  time,  were  the  safe- 
guards, supporters  and  upholders  of  Judaism.  Rabbi  Jo- 
chanan ben  Saccai  also  re-established  the  Sanhedrin,  and 
conferred  the  dignity  of  Nassi  upon  Gamaliel  II.,  the  son 
of  the  former  Nassi.  This  dignitary  was  very  strict  in  the 
discharge  of  the  functions  of  his  office ;  he  brought  about 
union  and  harmony  in  Israel,  whereby  he  materially  strength- 


BEN  SACCAI  AND  HIS  DISCIPLES.  31 

ened  its  condition,  and  watched  carefully  over  the  divine 
service.  Rabbi  Jochanan  ben  Saccai  enjoyed  the  respect  and 
the  veneration  of  the  whole  people  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred at  a  very  advanced  age,  when  he  was  sincerely 
mourned,  and  distinguished  by  the  name,  "  Light  of  Israel." 
Of  his  disciples,  he  preferred  five  in  a  special  manner.  Of 
those  five,  two  deserve  particular  mention,  viz.,  Rabbi  Eleazar 
ben  Hyrcanos  and  Rabbi  Joshua.  Up  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight,  Eleazar  could  neither  read  nor  write.  His  father  had 
destined  him  for  a  farmer's  life,  but  Eleazar's  tastes  inclining 
him  toward  learning,  he  left  his  home  and  sought  Saccai, 
that  he  might  become  his  disciple.  In  a  short  time  Eleazar 
had  made  progress  with  giant  strides,  and  soon  became  a 
celebrated  man.  His  father,  who  at  first  did  not  know 
where  his  son  was,  went  in  search  of  him,  and  came  to  the 
seat  of  the  academy.  He  heard  of  his  son's  presence  there, 
and  resolved  to  disinherit  him.  But  finding  how  high  a  rank 
he  occupied  among  the  rabbis,  the  father  relented  and  offered 
to  make  him  sole  heir  of  all  his  property ;  but  Eleazar  de- 
clined this  proposal  and  declared :  "  I  am  not  in  search  of 
material  possessions ;  I  strive  for  perennial  goods." 

Rabbi  Joshua,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  witty  and  highly- 
cultivated  man,  so  much  so  that  he  was  a  welcome  visitor  at 
the  royal  board,  though  he  was  but  a  blacksmith  by  trade 
and  of  very  homely  exterior.  The  princess  often  engaged 
him  in  lively  conversation,  and  made  him  the  object  of  her 
playful  raillery.  Thus  she  once  asked  him  banteringly: 
**  Tell  me,  Rabbi,  how  comes  it  that  so  great  a  mind  dwells 
in  so  ugly  a  form?  "  In  place  of  a  direct  answer,  he  asked 
her:  "In  what  kind  of  vessels  do  you  keep  your  wine?" 
"  In  earthen  vessels,  of  course,"  she  replied.  "  That  is 
wrong,"  said  Rabbi  Joshua;  "you  ought  to  keep  it  in  golden 
vessels,  by  all  means."  She  did  so,  and  before  long  the  wine 
was  spoiled.    In  this  manner  he  proved  to  her  that  external 


32  THE  DISPERSION. 


beauty  is  not  always  a  sure  index  of  internal  excellence. 
Kabbi  Joshua  was  very  highly  esteemed  by  the  people,  and, 
despite  his  low  station  in  life,  he  ranked  with,  and  perhaps 
above,  the  patriarch,  Gamaliel  II.,  with  whom  he  once  for  a 
short  time  lived  in  discord  because  of  some  disagreement. 

Rabbi  Jochanan  ben  Saccai  was  undoubtedly  the  founder 
of  the  regular  school  in  Palestine ;  and,  following  his  excel- 
lent example,  others  after  him  erected  and  established  schools 
in  Tiberias,  Sepporis  and  other  places,  thus  creating  a  per- 
manent home  for  religion  and  science  and  securing  their 
stability. 

XV. — THE  JEWS  AFTER  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  SECOND 
TEMPLE. 

The  national  existence  of  Israel  having  been  terminated 
by  the  Roman  conquests  in  Palestine,  the  Jews  emigrated 
to  other  countries,  as,  for  instance,  to  Egypt,  where  they 
found  their  brethren  who  had  previously  settled  there 
under  the  Emperor  Caligula.  The  Jewish  community 
of  Alexandria  produced  a  man  of  superior  attainments  and 
warm  impulses,  who,  both  by  writing  and  speaking,  worked 
faithfully  in  the  interest  of  his  people.  It  was  the  well- 
known  historian  and  philosopher,  Philo,  who  on  one  occasion 
repaired  to  Rome  to  defend  the  Jews  against  the  unjust  accu- 
sations of  their  bitter  foe,  Apion.  Jewish  congregations  and 
settlements  also  sprang  up  in  Persia  and  Babylonia.  From 
Asia  and  Africa  they  spread  to  Europe,  and  wherever  they 
lived  they  were  united  by  one  strong  tie,  that  of  their  faith, 
to  which  they  rigidly  adhered ;  and  by  harmonious  and  united 
efforts  they  progressed  and  prospered.  In  every  congrega- 
tion there  was  a  place  for  communal  devotions  and  a  school 
for  the  instruction  of  the  young.  As  citizens  of  the  respect- 
ive countries  which  they  had  selected  for  their  habitation, 
they  sought  to  avoid  anything  that  could  militate  against 


BAR  COCHBA. 


them,  they  conscientiously  performed  their  duties  as  citizens, 
and,  following  the  recommendations  of  the  Prophet  Jere- 
miah, they  prayed  for  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  their 
adopted  country  and  its  rulers.  The  Jews  living  in  the  Oc- 
cident placed  in  authority  over  them  a  spiritual  head,  with 
the  title  of  Nassi;  those  in  the  Orient  selected  a  spiritual 
head,  to  whom  they  applied  the  title  of  Resh-Gelutha,  i.  e., 
Exilarch.  Both  the  Nassi  in  European  countries  and  the 
Resh-Gelutha  in  the  Asiatic  provinces  lived  in  princely  style 
and  enjoyed  high  respect  and  veneration.  They  superin- 
tended all  religious  institutions,  and  their  opinions  had 
great  weight  with  the  civic  authorities  and  with  the  gov- 
ernment in  general.  The  office  and  dignity  of  Exilarch  re- 
mained intact  up  to  the  twelfth  century. 

XVI. — BAR  COCHBA  (130  C.  E.). 

The  life  of  the  Jews  under  the  Romans  was  a  very  bitter 
one.  The  emperors  succeeding  Titus  with  few  exceptions 
continually  oppressed  their  hapless  victims.  So  great  were 
the  hardships  they  had  to  bear  that  even  after  that  disas- 
trous defeat  in  the  year  70  they  attempted  twice  to  defend 
themselves.  These  emperors  who,  by  their  immeasurable 
cruelty,  challenged  resistance,  w^ere  Trajan  and  Hadrian. 
While  Trajan  was  engaged  in  war  with  the  Parthians,  the 
Jews  in  Cyrene  and  Cyprus  rose  up  in  resistance  to  the  hos- 
tile Greeks ;  but  Hadrian,  then  general-in-chief  of  the  Roman 
armies,  defeated  them.  Trajan's  successor  on  the  throne  was 
Hadrian,  who,  on  assuming  the  imperatorial  dignity,  seemed 
well-disposed  toward  the  Jews,  or  at  least  more  friendly  to- 
ward them  than  his  predecessor  had  been.  This  favor,  how- 
ever, was,  as  a  stray  sunbeam  on  a  cloudy  day,  of  but  very 
short  duration.  Soon  he  changed  his  manner  and  became  a 
tyrant  in  the  "  worst  and  fiercest  construction  "  of  that  word. 
He  inhibited  the  exercise  of  the  Mosaic  law  under  penalty 


©*• 


34  BAR  COCHBA. 


of  death.  At  the  same  time  (about  130  C.  E.)  a  man  of  rare 
bravery  and  eloquence  appeared  and  soon  became  prominent. 
His  name  was  Simon,  and  considering  himself  the  God- 
chosen  Messiah,  pretended  to  be  able  to  liberate  his  brethren 
and  to  break  the  yoke  of  Rome.  With  reference  to  the 
phrase,  "there  eteppeth forth  a  star  out  of  Jacob"  (Num- 
bers xxiv.  17),  he  assumed  the  name  "  Bar  Cochba,"  ''  Son 
of  the  Star."  The  people,  sorely  oppressed,  and  wishing, 
hoping  and  praying  for  the  advent  of  the  Messiah — the  Re- 
deemer promised  and  foretold  by  the  Prophets — were  easily 
led  to  the  acceptance  of  and  belief  in  this  pretender,  who,  by 
the  way,  might  have  been  quite  serious  and  sincere  in  the 
belief  in  his  own  Messiahship ;  the  more  so  as  his  entire 
bearing  and  deportment  were  calculated  to  inspire  every  one. 
Thus  he  soon  gained  many  supporters.  Nearly  a  half-million 
of  soldiers  enlisted,  in  the  firm  hope  of  speedy  deliverance ; 
nor  was  the  opportunity  or  occasion  for  action  long  in 
coming.  It  happened  in  this  wise.  A  couple  who  had  just 
been  married  was,  according  to  the  custom  then  prevailing, 
preceded  by  some  persons  carrying  chickens.  The  Romans 
despoiled  the  bearers  of  their  fowls,  whereupon  the  Jews  fell 
upon  them  to  defend  their  rights.  Hadrian,  hearing  of  this, 
sent  his  general,  Rufus,  with  a  great  army  against  them ;  but 
Bar  Cochba  repelled  the  attack,  advanced,  reconquered  Je- 
rusalem, several  fortresses  and  about  900  smaller  places. 
The  Jews  were  rejoiced  at  this  brilliant  victory,  and  in  com- 
memoration thereof  they  struck  some  coins,  bearing  the 
device  :  "  For  Israel's  liberty."  But  this  joy  was  short-lived. 
Rufus  was  defeated,  but  not  the  Romans,  who  were  only 
the  more  infuriated  and  bent  upon  the  severe  punishment  of 
those  fierce  and  irrepressible  Jews.  Severus  took  charge  of  the 
Roman  hosts  as  commander-in-chief,  and  Hadrian  placed 
at  his  command  a  very  numerous  army.  The  manner  of  pro- 
cedure adopted  by  Severus  was  unlike  that  of  his  predeces- 


THE  TEN  MARTYRS.  ^**^  85      '     ''- ' 


sors.  He  did  not  engage  in  open  battle,  but  by  means  of 
cutting  off  supplies  and  by  light  skirmishes  he  reduced  the 
insurgents,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  fortress  Bethar, 
held  by  Bar  Cochba,  the  Romans  regained  all  they  had  lost 
under  Rufus.  For  one  entire  year  Bethar  withstood  the 
hostile  attacks  of  the  beleaguerers,  but  finally  (135  C.  E.) 
even  this  fortress  and  stronghold  became  weak  and  was 
forced  to  surrender,  because  of  the  prevailing  scarcity  of 
food.  Among  the  100,000  victims  whom  this  last  war  had 
claimed  was  also  Bar  Cochba,  who  latterly  was  sarcastically 
called  Bar  Cozba,  son  of  falsehood.  The  fall  of  Bethar,  more 
than  any  previous  occurrence,  blighted  and  removed  every 
hope  of  shaking  off  the  supremacy  of  the  Romans. 

XVII. — THE  TEN  MARTYRS. 

Hadrian's  tyrannical  character  became  daily  more  manifest. 
His  inhuman  proceedings  against  the  Jews  grew  into  fero- 
cious persecution,  which  had  for  its  object  not  only  the  ex- 
termination of  the  hapless  Jews,  but  was  also  directed 
against  their  religion.  Another  Antiochus,  he  issued  an  edict 
prohibiting  the  reading  or  preaching  of  the  Tora,  making 
such  occupations  criminal  offenses,  punishable  by  the  death 
of  the  transgressor.  But  what  is  human  law  compared  with 
the  divine !  and  never  yet  could  nor  did  a  tyrant  success- 
fully domineer  over  the  powers  of  conscience  and  conviction. 
Israel  never  was  so  forsaken  as  to  lack  true  heroes  in  the 
hour  of  greatest  danger.  And  there  were  such  men  in  Israel 
at  that  unfortunate  time — men  of  character  and  considera- 
tion, who  had  nothing  so  much  at  heart  as  the  study  of  the 
divine  law.  Ten  of  those  men,  recognizing  the  greatest 
danger  for  Judaism — nay,  the  total  destruction  of  their  faith 
— in  a  compliance  with  and  obedience  to  the  emperor's  un- 
just behests,  bade  him  defiance,  and  thus  chose  death  for 
their  portion,  when  life  could  only  be  gained  by  the  surren- 


THE  TEN  MARTYRS. 


der  of  life's  holiest  aim.  Those  ten  men  are  known  in 
history  by  the  name  of  the  ten  martyrs.  Their  names  are : 
Simon  ben  Gamaliel,  the  patriarch;  Ismael,  the  priest; 
Rabbi  Akiba,  Rabbi  Chuzpith,  Rabbi  Juda  ben  Baba,  Rabbi 
Chanina  ben  Teradyon,  Rabbi  Eleazar  ben  Shemuah,  Rabbi 
Jesebeb,  Rabbi  Chanina  ben  Hachinas,  and  Rabbi  Juda  ben 
Damas.  The  agonies  and  tortures  to  which  these  men  were 
exposed  are  indescribable,  and  their  painful  death  is  almost 
without  a  parallel  in  history.  When  one  of  them.  Rabbi 
Akiba,  was  yet  in  prison  for  the  violation  of  the  imperial 
decree,  he  was  visited  by  one  Papus,  who  asked  for  the  reason 
of  this  stubborn  resistance.  Rabbi  Akiba  said :  ^'  Listen 
while  I  tell  you  an  anecdote.  A  fox  once  walked  upon  the 
bank  of  a  river  abounding  with  innumerable  fish.  The  fisher- 
men were  busily  angling  for  them,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
water  were  consequently  in  great  commotion.  '  What  is  the 
cause  of  all  this  confusion?  '  asked  the  fox  ;  he  received  the 
answer  that  they  were  hurrying  from  the  fishermen's  nets 
and  hooks.  '  Come  out  of  the  water,  then,'  said  the  sly  fox, 
*  and  they  will  do  you  no  harm.'  But  they  answered  him  : 
*Art  thou  really  the  wise  fox?  Thy  advice  belies  thy 
shrewdness.  For  if  here,  in  our  element,  we  are  in  danger 
of  our  lives,  how  much  more  would  this  be  the  case  upon 
dry  land,  to  which  we  are  not  accustomed?  '  Thus  I  say  to 
thee,  Papus :  If  in  the  study  of  the  Law,  which  is  our  ele- 
ment, we  are  endangered,  what  would  be  the  danger  if  we 
abandoned  it?  Surely  thou  art  not  the  wise  man  I  thought 
thee  to  be."  On  being  led  to  his  death,  he  recited  portions 
from  the  Tora.  The  flesh  was  torn  from  his  body  with  iron 
combs,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  sympathizing  disciples,  he 
alone  retained  his  firmness.  When,  moved  to  tears  by  the 
cruelty  inflicted  upon  their  beloved  and  respected  master, 
they  exclaimed,  "Alas!  is  this  the  reward  of  thy  piety?'* 
he  answered,  "  Certainly ;  all  my  life  I  have  been  wishing  for 


RABBI  AKIBA.  37 


an  opportunity  to  prove  my  love  for  God,  not  only  with 
my  heart  and  might,  but  also  with  my  soul,  with  my  life ; 
and  now  that  I  have  that  opportunity,  should  I  cowardly 
seek  to  evade  and  not  rather  persist  in  my  sanctification  for 
God?  "  With  the  words  "  Adonay  Echod,"  "  God  is  one,"  he 
expired.  Rabbi  Chanina  ben  Teradyon  died  a  death  as  ter- 
rible as  that  of  Rabbi  Akiba.  While  teaching  publicly  in 
defiance  of  Hadrian's  order,  those  fiends,  the  minions  of  the 
Roman  tyrant,  wrapped  him  in  a  scroll  of  the  Law,  which 
they  set  on  fire,  and  to  prevent  the  rapid  burning  and  to  in- 
crease his  tortures,  they  put  wet  wool  upon  his  breast  from 
time  to  time.  Amid  excruciating  pains,  yet  with  prayers 
upon  his  lips,  he  died.  In  former  years,  while  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (ninth  day  of  Ab)  was 
yet  universally  observed,  those  ten  martyrs  were  always 
mentioned  in  a  song  of  lamentation.  (Congregations  that 
still  observe  the  ninth  day  of  Ab  recite  that  chapter  during 
the  morning  service  of  that  day.) 

XVrn. — RABBI  AKIBA,  HIS  DISCIPLES  AND  COLLEAGUES. 

Rabbi  Akiba,  one  of  the  ten  martyrs  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  was  a  star  of  particular  brightness  on  the 
horizon  of  learning.  Tradition  accords  him  a  life  of  120 
years.  He  was  about  fifty-five  years  old  when  Titus  de- 
stroyed Jerusalem,  and  lived  until  about  135  C.  E.  Up  to 
his  fortieth  year  he  had  lived  in  utter  ignorance,  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  a  shepherd  to  a  wealthy  man  of  Jerusalem,  named 
Calba  Sabua.  Between  him  and  his  employer's  daughter 
there  sprang  up  a  mutual  love,  and  his  ignorance  was  the 
only  obstacle  that  stood  between  him  and  the  possession  of 
the  woman  he  loved.  She  had  promised  to  become  his  wife 
if  he  should  succeed  in  gaining  some  fame  for  his  learning. 
The  forty-year-old  Akiba  was  almost  driven  to  despair ;  be- 
lieving his  time  for  learning  to  have  passed  forever.     But  he 


38  RABBI  AKIBA. 


once  accidentally  noticed  a  stone  before  a  spring  which  had 
become  somewhat  hollowed  by  the  water  which  constantly 
dropped  down  upon  it.  The  sight  of  this  stone^set  him 
to  thinking,  and  he  said :  If  a  stone  can  be  impressed  thus 
by  water,  why  should  not  my  heart  be  impressed  thus  by 
the  divine  word?  Quickly  resolved,  he  sought  the  academy 
of  Rabbi  Joshua,  learned  with  great  alacrity,  and  soon  be- 
came not  only  a  thorough  and  apt  pupil,  but  a  revered  mas- 
ter and  one  of  the  greatest  teachers.  His  disciples  are  said 
to  have  numbered  some  24,000.  Thus  distinguished  and 
revered,  he  returned  to  Jerusalem  and  married  the  daughter 
of  Calba  Sabua.  Rabbi  Akiba  possessed  the  rare  gift  of 
lucidly  and  ingeniously  explaining  the  most  insignificant 
passages  of  Scripture,  and  to  his  wisdom  was  wedded 
the  fear  of  God.  He  adopted  as  his  motto,  "  Whatever  God 
does  is  well  done ;  "  and  he  often  had  occasion  to  convince 
himself  of  its  truth. 

His  many  sayings,  maxims  and  aphorisms,  as  well  as  a 
great. number  of  narratives  and  anecdotes  by  and  of  him,  are 
preserved  in  Hebrew  literature.  His  disciples,  probably 
owing  to  their  vast  numbers,  could  not  at  first  agree.  It  so 
happened  that  once,  after  the  Passover  festival,  while  the 
Omer  days  were  counted,  a  pestilence  broke  out  among  them, 
which,  however,  ceased  on  the  thirty-third  day  after  the 
second  night  of  the  Pesach. 

In  commemoration  of  this  strange  and  unfortunate  event, 
the  days  of  the  Omer,  with  the  exception  of  Lag  B'omer 
(thirty-third  day  of  Omer),  were  characterized  as  days  of 
mourning,  during  which  no  kind  of  enjoyment  was  permis- 
sible. Marriages  were  not  contracted  during  that  time,  nor 
was  any  pleasure  indulged  in.  This  custom  was  preserved 
for  a  long  time,  and  even  to-day  there  are  many  who  still 
adhere  to  it.  After  the  tragic  death  of  Akiba,  briefly  men- 
tioned in  the  former  chapter,  his  disciples  and  colleagues 


akiba's  disciples  and  colleagues.  39 

undertook  the  maintenance  of  his  schools  and  the  erection 
of  others.  Such  schools  or  Academies  flourished  in  Seppo- 
ris,  Tiberias,  Usha,  etc.  Among  his  contemporaries  there 
were : 

1.  Nahum,  the  Gamsu  man,  so  called  because  he  was  used 
to  accept  any  untoward  circumstance  in  perfect  resignation, 
always  saying  "  Gam  su  Vtoba/^ "  this  also  is  for  good."  This 
man,  a  teacher  of  Akiba,  was  born  in  Gimsu,  a  place  not  far 
from  Lydda,  and  it  is  supposed  that  his  watchword,  Gamsu, 
was  adopted  from  a  slight  change  of  the  name  of  his  native 
place.  In  his  old  age  he  was  visited  by  many  mishaps. 
He  first  lost  his  eyesight  and  then  his  limbs  became  para- 
lyzed. He  used  to  tell  those  that  came  to  visit  him  that 
his  sufierings  were  a  just  punishment  for  his  evil  deeds,  for 
that  once  when  on  his  way  with  rich  presents  for  his  father- 
in-law  he  had  been  asked  for  alms ;  he  had  let  the  poor  man 
wait  until  he  had  unloaded  his  asses,  and  in  the  meanwhile 
the  poor  man  had  died. 

2.  Rabbi  Meir,  a  prominent  scholar,  who  possessed  the 
happy  faculty  of  teaching  in  a  manner  which  never  tired. 
He  embellished  all  his  lectures  with  beautiful  legends  and 
witty  sayings.  His  memory  was  prodigious.  It  is  related 
of  him  that  being  at  a  place  in  Asia  Minor,  the  congregation 
of  which  had  no  Meguillah  (Esther),  he  wrote  it  for  them 
from  memory,  without  omitting  a  single  letter.  His  disci- 
ples, with  whom  he  stood  in  high  regard,  eagerly  listened  to 
all  his  utterances,  and  his  colleagues  said  of  him :  "  When 
Rabbi  Meir  instructs,  it  is  as  though  he  uprooted  moun- 
tains and  ground  them  against  each  other ;  "  or,  "  Whoever 
touches  Rabbi  Meir's  words  must  improve  in  wisdom."  He 
disliked  any  blind  follow:ing  of  the  words  of  even  the  most 
eminent  persons.  He  favored  and  strongly  recommended 
individual  research  and  examination,  and  gave  utterance  to 
that  sentiment  by  saying :  "  Look  not  at  the  vessel,  but  ex- 


40  akiba's  disciples  and  colleagues 

amine  its  contents;  there  may  be  new  pitchers  full  of  old 
wine,  and  old  pitchers  that  contain  not  even  new  wine/' 
Rabbi  Meir  deprecated  any  hurried  recitation  of  prayers  and 
insisted  upon  their  being  devoutly  and  reverentially  offered. 
He  said :  "  Better  little  prayer  with  devotion  than  much 
without  it."  In  matters  of  religion  he  was  very  exact,  and 
considered  it  wrong  in  anybody  to  marry  one  without  re- 
ligious knowledge.  Yet  he  was  very  liberal,  and  always  pre- 
ferred a  heathen  who  studied  the  divine  law  to  an  Israelite, 
or  even  to  a  priest,  who  neglected  that  study.  His  teacher 
was  Rabbi  Elizar  ben  Abuya  (known  in  history  by  the  name 
of  Acher,  the  other,  because  he  became  a  skeptic  with  regard 
to  the  dogma  of  the  unity  of  God,  and  people  did  not  wish 
to  mention  his  name).  Rabbi  Meir  never  withheld  his  re- 
gard or  veneration  from  that  teacher,  despite  of  his  infidel 
doctrine. 

3.  Rabbi  Simon  ben  Jochai,  who  for  thirteen  years  lived 
in  a  cave  in  order  to  escape  the  persecutions  of  the  gov- 
ernment. During  those  years  he  was  engaged  in  liter- 
ary pursuits,  and  the  book  "Sifri"  (commenting  upon  the 
fourth  and  fifth  books  of  Moses)  is  ascribed  to  him.  Some 
even  consider  him  the  author  of  the  '•  Sohar,"  a  cabalistic 
work.  At  an  advanced  age  he  journeyed  to  Rome  to  prevent 
a  renewal  of  the  prescriptive  laws  and  edicts  of  Hadrian, 
and  was  favorably  received  by  the  Roman  authorities.  Be 
sides  these  there  are  to  be  mentioned : 

4.  Rabbi  Ismael,  author  of  the  "  Mechiltha  "  (commen- 
tary on  Exodus). 

5.  Rabbi  Eleazar  Chisma,  who  studied  mathematics  and 
astronomy. 

6.  Rabbi  Jose  ben  Chalaphta,  who,  though  a  tanner  by 
trade,  was  a  profound  student  of  the  Law. 

7.  The  cooper,  Rabbi  Judah  ben  Ilai  Hachassid,  who  lived 


RABBI  JEHUDA  HANASSI.  41 

80  plainly  that  he  wore  no  other  garments  except  those  made 
from  the  stuff  spun  by  his  wife ;  and, 

8.  Rabbi  Juda,  son  of  Rabbi  Simon  ben  Gamaliel,  called 
the  Holy,  who  was  by  a  peculiar  circumstance  permitted  to 
grow  up  with  a  son  of  Hadrian,  Marcus  Antoninus,  who  in 
later  years,  when  emperor,  preserved  and  proved  his  friend- 
ship for  the  companion  of  his  youth. 

XIX. — RABBI  JEHUDA  HANASSI — THE  AMORAIM. 

After  the  persecutions  of  the  Jews  by  Hadrian,  the  Sanhe- 
drin,  presided  over  by  Simon  ben  Gamaliel  II.,  attained  high 
authority.  Babylonish  congregations,  although  governed  by 
the  Exilarch  and  under  his  control,  recognized,  nevertheless, 
the  resolutions  and  decrees  of  that  Sanhedrin.  Simon  ben 
Gamaliel  II.  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Rabbi  Jehuda  Ha- 
nassi,  the  one  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter.  He  was 
also  called  ''  the  Holy  One,"  or  "  Rabbi."  The  birthday  of 
this  illustrious  scion  of  the  house  of  Hillel  was  the  day  on 
which  Rabbi  Akiba  was  executed  by  Hadrian's  edict.  A 
great  part  of  his  considerable  fortune  he  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  poor  students,  to  enable  them  to  continue  their 
studies.  But  notwithstanding  that  he  was  celebrated  for  his 
learning  and  highly  respected  by  aU,  he  was  modest.  His 
greatest  work,  for  which  his  memory  is  cherished  to  this  day, 
was  the  collection  and  compilation  of  the  "  Oral  Law,"  or 
tradition,  known  as  the  Mishna.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty,  universally  lamented  and  mourned,  especially  by  the 
great  number  of  disciples  whom  he  had  fitted  for  their 
career.  Those  disciples  of  Rabbi  Jehuda  Hanassi  who  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  explanation  of  the  Mishna  were 
called  Amoraim,  i.  e.,  speakers,  commentators,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  rabbis  preceding  them,  who  were  known  by 
the  name  of  Tannaim,  or  Mishna  teachers. 

The  most  prominent  of  the  Amoraim  were : 


42  THE  AMORAIM. 


1.  Rabbi  Jochanan,  the  founder  of  an  academy  at  Tibe- 
rias, over  which  he  presided  until  his  death.  He  was  a  man 
of  prepossessing  exterior,  but  had  the  misfortune  to  lose 
his  ten  sons  in  the  prime  of  their  life.  When  his  last  son 
had  died  he  carried  one  of  the  bones  of  his  body  constantly 
with  him,  in  order  the  more  effectively  to  console  anyone 
similarly  bereaved.  The  Jerusalem  Talmud,  which  appeared 
at  370  C.  E.,  was  his  work. 

2.  Rabbi  Simon  ben  Lakish,  a  disciple  of  the  former,  and 
remarkable  for  his  mental  acumen.  He  was  of  gigantic 
power  and  build  and  strictly  just  and  upright  in  all  his 
dealings. 

3.  Aba  Areka,  an  intimate  friend  of  Artaban,  the  last  king 
of  Parthia.  He  founded  a  school  at  Sura,  in  which  he  gath- 
ered around  him  some  1,200  disciples.  For  nearly  800  years 
Sura  remained  a  prominent  seat  of  learning.  Aba's  disciples 
venerated  him  so  much  that  they  called  him  only  Rab,  by 
which  name  he  is  known  in  the  Talmud. 

4.  Samuel,  the  friend  of  Aba,  became  the  religious  chief 
of  Babylonia  in  the  year  237,  after  the  death  of  the  latter. 
Samuel  was  not  only  a  great  Talmudist,  thoroughly  conver- 
sant with  Halacha  (jurisprudence),  but  possessed  a  consider- 
able knowledge  of  medicine,  while  as  an  astronomer  he  was 
so  eminent  that  he  could  boast  of  himself :  "  I  am  as  well 
acquainted  with  the  streets  and  walks  in  heaven  as  with 
those  in  Nahardea." 

5.  Rabbi  Abahu,  a  man  of  great  wealth,  an  extensive 
slave-owner  and  manufacturer  of  veils.  He  understood  Greek 
thoroughly,  and  gave  his  daughter  instruction  in  that  lan- 
guage. Some  of  his  contemporaries  thought  very  ill  of  him 
on  that  account.  His  clear  and  logical  reasoning,  his  ac- 
complishments and  dignified  bearing,  made  him  a  favorite 
with  the  emperor  and  the  most  prominent  men  of  Rome. 

6.  Rabbi  Huna,  for  forty  years  teacher  at  the  school  of 


AFTER  Hadrian's  persecutions.  43 

Sura.  Next  to  the  study  of  the  laws  of  God,  he  was  an  emi- 
nent agriculturist,  who  did  not  disdain  to  work  his  fields 
alone.  In  later  years  he  acquired  considerable  wealth, 
which  he  very  judiciously  applied  to  the  support  of  indigent 
students. 

7  and  8.   Two  keen  commentators. 

9  and  10.  Rabina  and  Rab  Asha,  publishers  and  compilers 
of  the  Babylonian  Talmud  (375-427  C.  E.). 

Besides  these  there  may  also  be  mentioned  Rabbi  bar 
Nachmeni,  Joseph  ben  Chiya  and  Rabbi  Papa. 

Of  the  successors  of  Rabbi  Juda  Hanassi,  his  grand-son, 
Juda,  the  prince,  Nassi,  deserves  particular  mention.  He 
was  surrounded  by  princely  pomp  and  addressed  with  the 
title  of  Highness,  even  by  the  Roman  government.  Con- 
cerning the  practice  of  the  oral  law,  he  promulgated  several 
measures  and  orders  to  facilitate  its  exercise. 


The  two  centuries  succeeding  the  reign  of  Hadrian  were 
strongly  marked  and  clearly  distinguished  from  the  times 
before  and  following  those  two  hundred  years.  The  Jews 
had  bravely  yet  unsuccessfully  struggled  against  the  Ro- 
mans, and  the  successors  of  Hadrian  permitted  them  to  live 
in  undisturbed  quietude  and  peace.  Marcus  Antoninus, 
Marcus  Aurelius  and  Severus  granted  them  many  privileges 
and  liberties.  Even  Valerius  and  Diocletian,  two  Romans 
who  did  not  treat  with  any  consideration  the  daughter  re- 
ligion of  Judaism  —  who  rather  dealt  harshly  with  and  bit- 
terly oppressed  Christianity — even  they  did  not  oppress  the 
Jews.  But  times  changed,  too  soon  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Jewish  race.  It  was  at  the  time  when  the  Roman  rulers 
became  Christians  that  they  interpreted  their  new  faith  to 
consist  in  cruelty  and  opposition  to  the  Jews.  The  founder 
of  the  Christian  doctrine,  a  Jew  himself,  strictly  obeyed  the 


44  JULIAN. 


Mosaic  law,  and  adopted  as  the  basis  of  his  new  law  and  re- 
ligion the  commandment :  "  Love  thy  neighber  as  thyself," 
as  found  in  III.  B.  M.  17,  18.  This  new  departure  proved 
of  great  advantage  at  first,  inasmuch  as  many  heathens  were 
thereby  converted  to  the  belief  in  one  God.  But  many  of 
the  priests  and  church-fathers  that  stood  at  the  head  of  this 
new  movement  soon  effected  a  complete  rupture  between  this 
and  the  Jewish  law.  Nor  did  they  stop  there,  for  they  tried 
to  make  the  Jews  suspected  and  persecuted  them.  The  first 
Roman  emperor  who  was  converted  to  and  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, showed  his  appreciation  and  admiration  for  his  re- 
ligion by  suppressing  the  Jews  and  burdening  them  with 
heavy  taxation.  Julian  was  not  so  unreasonable.  In  oppo- 
sition to  the  unwarranted  persecution  of  the  Jews  by  the 
clergy,  he  commanded  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  and  of 
Jerusalem.  Toward  the  Nassi,  Hillel  II.,  he  was  very  gracious, 
and  in  a  letter  directed  to  him  he  addressed  that  high  func- 
tionary as  brother.  In  that  letter  the  Emperor  Julian  re- 
quested that  the  Jews  should  pray  for  him,  that  God  might 
grant  him  victory  over  the  Persians,  after  which  (he  said) 
he  would  unite  with  them  in  proclaiming  the  glory  of  one 
God. 

The  rebuilding  of  the  temple  was  begun,  but  suddenly 
there  came  a  fire  from  out  of  the  rubbish,  which  most  proba- 
bly was  the  work  of  some  malevolent  incendiary ;  yet  super- 
stition became  very  strong,  and  no  one  dared  to  continue 
the  work.  Julian  was  succeeded  in  turn  by  Honorius  and 
Theodosius  II.,  who,  unlike  their  liberal  predecessor,  were 
cruel  and  full  of  hatred  against  the  Jews.  Theodosius 
caused  the  massacre  of  1,000  of  them  in  Alexandria,  which 
resulted  in  the  impoverishment  of  that  city. 


THE  TALMUD.  45 


XXI. — THE  TALMUD. 

Rabbi  Jehuda  Hanassi  had  collected  the  Mishna,  and  by 
committing  it  to  writing  saved  the  great  treasure  from  being 
lost.  But  it  was  short  and  often  epigrammatic  in  its  pas- 
sages, and  an  urgent  necessity  made  itself  felt  to  enlarge 
and  comment  upon  it.  To  meet  this  want,  the  religious 
schools  and  academies  undertook  the  task  of  adding  the 
Guemara  to  the  Mishna.  Guemara  is  called  the  explanation 
and  elucidation  of  the  Mishna.  Both  Mishna  and  Guemara 
are  known  by  the  name  of  Talmud.  Of  this  great  work  there 
are  two  distinct  editions — the  Jerusalemic  (Hierosolomyton) 
Talmud,  edited  in  370  by  Rabbi  Jochanan,  a  disciple  of 
Rabbi  Jehuda  Hanassi ;  and  the  Babylonian  Talmud,  edited 
by  Rabina  and  Rab  Asha,  the  head  of  the  school  at  Sura  (375- 
427  C.  E.).  The  latter  contains,  in  sixty  books,  the  tradi- 
tional laws  governing  the  religious  life  (Halacha),  and  the 
sayings,  maxims,  ethics  and  anecdotes  of  the  individual 
rabbis,  which  they  used  for  popular  edification  (Haggada). 
Halacha  was  regarded  as  binding  and  applicable  to  all.  Hag- 
gada could  be  variously  received  and  explained.  Of  the 
manner  in  which  this  gigantic  work  was  compiled,  and  which 
it  is  said  occupied  sixty  years,  we  are  told  that  of  the  sixty 
books  comprising  the  Mishna,  Rab  Asha  took  two  every 
year,  which  were  divided  and  distributed  among  his  disci- 
ples. Every  year  there  were  two  meetings,  at  which  he  de- 
livered discourses  on  one  of  the  books  of  the  Mishna,  with 
his  explanations.  They  were  then  dismissed  for  five  months, 
during  which  time  they  were  to  collect  all  they  knew  or  had 
learned  in  the  meantime ;  at  the  next  meeting  their  works 
were  arranged  and  made  into  a  whole.  The  work  was  com- 
pleted in  this  manner  within  thirty  years,  and  thirty  years 
longer  were  required  to  revise,  correct  and  bring  it  into  per- 


46  THE  TALMUD. 


manent  shape.  In  this  arduous  labor  Rab  Asha  was  ably 
supported  by  Rabina. 

The  Talmud  is  divided  into  six  great  parts  or  orders 
(Seder) ;  every  order  into  treatises  (Massecheth) ;  and  every 
treatise  into  chapters  (Perek).  The  Halacha  soon  assumed 
the  authority  of  the  Mosaic  Law;  it  became  an  object  of 
profound  study  and  research,  which  occupied  the  rabbis  by 
day  and  by  night;  it  quickened  their  thoughts,  and  chal- 
lenged sharp  reasoning ;  it  was  regarded  as  the  fountain-head 
of  faith  and  science.  The  Haggada  again  offered  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  popular  instruction.  All  eagerly  lis- 
tened, with  joyous  and  rapt  attention,  to  the  sound  maxims 
which  furthered  virtue  and  the  moral  love  of  God  and  man. 

The  following  selections  from  the  Talmud  may  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  beauty  and  depth  of  Talmudic  ethics  : 

a)  From  the  Ethics  of  the  Fathers  (Pirke  Ahoth): 

Hillel : — "  Love  peace  and  pursue  it ;  love  mankind  and 
bring  them  to  the  study  of  the  Law."    i.  12. 

Shammai :  —  "  Let  the  study  of  the  Law  (religion)  be  a 
fixed  business  of  thine ;  say  little  and  do  much,  and  receive 
all  men  with  an  open,  friendly  countenance  "    i.  15. 

Simon  ben  Gamaliel: — "The  duration  of  the  world  de- 
pends on  truth,  justice  and  peace."    i.  18. 

Shemayah :  — "  Love  labor  and  hate  dominion."    i.  10. 

Levitas  : — "  Be  exceedingly  humble  of  spirit,  for  the  end 
of  man  is  to  be  food  for  worms."    iv.  4. 

Rabbi  Jochanan  ben  Saccai : — "  If  thou  hast  learned  much 
of  the  Law,  pride  not  thyself  thereat ;  because  for  this  pur- 
pose alone  wast  thou  created."    ii.  9. 

Zoma : — "  Who  is  wise?  He  who  is  willing  to  receive  in- 
structions from  every  one.  Who  is  a  hero?  He  who  sub- 
dueth  his  evil  inclination.  Who  is  rich?  He  who  is  content 
with  his  lot."    iv.  1. 

Rabbi  Jehuda  Hanassi : — "  Reflect  well  on  three  things,  and 


THE  TALMUD.  47 


thou  wilt  not  lapse  into  the  power  of  sin :  know  what  is 
above  thee,  an  all-seeing  eye,  a  hearing  ear,  and  that  all  thy 
actions  are  written  in  a  book."    ii.  1. 

Rabbi  Joshua : — "  Envy,  passion  and  hatred  of  mankind 
remove  man  from  the  world."    ii.  16. 

Eleazar  ben  Shamuah  : — "  Let  the  honor  of  thy  scholar  be 
as  dear  to  thee  as  thy  own ;  the  honor  of  thy  associate  as  the 
fear  of  thy  teacher,  and  the  fear  of  thy  teacher  as  the  fear  of 
God."    iv.l5. 

Rabbi  Simon: — "There  are  three  crowns — the  crown  of 
the  Law,  the  crown  of  the  priesthood  and  the  crown  of  the 
kingdom ;  but  the  crown  of  a  good  name  is  superior  to  them 
all."    iv.l7. 

Samuel  the  Younger: — '' Rejoice  not  when  thy  enemy 
falleth,  and  let  not  thy  heart  be  glad  when  he  stumbleth." 
iv.  24.    Etc. 

b)  From  the  Talmud: 
.  "  The  ultimate  end  of  all  laws  is  to  purify  and  to  unite  in 
love  all  mankind. —  Correct  thy  own  failings  before  thou  ad- 
monishest  thy  neighbor. — Passion  is  at  first  like  a  cobweb  or 
a  fragile  thread ;  by  degrees  it  becomes  a  heavy  rope.-^Do 
wrong  neither  to  thy  brother  in  the  faith  nor  to  him  who  dif- 
fers with  thee  in  matters  of  faith. —  The  uncharitable  is  to  be 
compared  to  an  idolater. — The  just  and  virtuous  have  a  por- 
tion in  the  future  reward,  irrespective  of  their  creed  or  na- 
tionality.— Why  was  but  one  man  created?  In  order  that 
one  generation  should .  not  say  to  another,  My  father  was 
greater  than  thine. — An  infidel  once  said  to  Gabiha:  *Ye 
fools  who  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  behold,  the 
living  die ;  how,  then,  can  the  dead  live  again? '  '  Fools  ye 
are  yourselves,'  answered  Gabiha ;  '  if  that  which  was  not 
comes  to  existence,  why  should  it  be  impossible  for  that 
which  was  to  be  again? ' — He  who  possesses  wisdom  without 
the  fear  of  God  is  like  one  who  has  the  inner  keys  of  the 


48  THE  TALMUD. 


house,  but  not  the  outer  ones.  How  can  he  enter  it?  —  Un- 
happy is  the  man  who,  in  despair,  deems  himself  lost;  un- 
happy he  who  deems  himself  perfect.— Prayer  is  the  worship 
of  the  heart. —  Rather  than  publicly  expose  to  shame  any 
one,  suffer  thyself  to  be  cast  into  a  caldron  of  fire. —  Love 
him  more  who  calls  thy  attention  to  thy  faults  than  him  who 
constantly  praises  thee. — The  imperishable  monuments  of 
the  truly  pious  are  their  good  deeds. — Throw  no  stone  into  the 
well  from  which  thou  hast  once  drank. — Rather  perform  the 
meanest  labor  than  beg. —  It  is  a  sin  to  give  alms  and  boast 
of  it  before  man. —  The  proud  man  is  an  idolater  who  wor- 
ships himself. — Wisdom  secluded  within  itself  is  like  a  myr- 
tle in  the  desert,  that  rejoices  no  one. — As  the  wine  goes  in, 
the  secret  goes  out. — It  is  not  the  place  that  honors  the  man, 
it  is  the  man  who  reflects  honor  upon  the  place. —  Mod- 
esty is  a  beautiful  ornament  of  man. —  When  two  quarrel, 
you  may  be  sure  that  he  who  first  stops  is  of  the  better  de- 
scent.—  The  heart  and  the  eye  are  the  two  agents  of  sin. — 
The  myrtle  remains  a  myrtle,  even  though  it  be  among 
thorns  and  brambles. — The  punishment  of  the  liar  is  that 
his  word  is  discredited,  even  though  it  be  the  truth. — Selfish 
love  quickly  vanishes ;  unselfish  love  lasts  eternally." 


Pai\t   II. 
THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

I. — THE  JEWS  IN  PERSIA,  INDIA  AND  CHINA. 

As  early  as  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the  Talmud, 
there  existed  many  large  Jewish  congregations  in  Persia, 
where,  notwithstanding  their  loyalty,  they  were  exposed  to 
the  tyranny  of  the  Persian  rulers.  Kobad,  King  of  Persia 
(520  C.  E.),  desired  to  force  all  his  subjects  to  embrace  his  re- 
ligion, and,  when  the  Jews  refused,  he  ordered  Mar  Sutra, 
the  Exilarch,  to  be  executed  on  the  bridge  of  his  own  city, 
Machusa.  The  Jews  against  the  Christians,  and  these 
against  the  Jews,  brought  about  a  very  deplorable  state  of 
affairs,  which  terminated  in  the  loss  of  many  thousands  of 
lives. 

Previous  to  this  there  had  been  an  emigration  of  some 
seventy-two  Jewish  families,  who  settled  in  India,  and,  pros- 
pering and  increasing,  they  remained  there  until  1510,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  peace  and  tranquillity.  But  when  they  were 
driven  from  their  possessions  in  India  by  the  Portuguese, 
they  found  refuge  in  Cochin,  where  the  young  men  married 
black  slaves,  after  they  had  become  Jewesses.  These  unions 
produced  the  black  Jews. 


60  ISLAMISM. 


Of  the  Jews  in  China  we  have  but  very  few  data.  So  much 
is  known,  however,  that  there  are  several  Jewish  congrega- 
tions in  the  Celestial  Empire,  that  the  Jews  enjoy  equal  rights, 
are  admitted  to  all  offices,  have  synagogues  surrounded  by 
trees  and  Chinese  tents,  and  speak  a  Hebrew  mixed  with 
Persian.  Their  holy  writings  contain  thirteen  books ;  twelve 
in  honor  of  the  tribes,  and  one  as  a  token  of  reverence  for 
Moses.  They  have  not  all  the  books  we  possess,  but  those 
books  which  they  have  are  precisely  like  ours.  In  reading 
the  Pentateuch  in  their  synagogue,  the  reader  stands,  in  a  blue 
hat  and  cotton  Thalith,  before  a  desk  called  the  "Moses* 
desk."  The  rabbi  wears  a  sash  of  red  silk  around  his  shoul- 
der. They  still  observe  some  ceremonies,  but  no  longer  un- 
derstand Hebrew.    They  number  in  all  about  600  souls. 

II. — ISLAMISM. 

The  Jews,  maltreated  and  oppressed  in  Palestine,  settled, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  Persia,  India  and  China  as  early  as  the 
third  century.  Yet  Arabia,  adjoining  Palestine,  was  the 
most  welcome  asylum  of  the  fugitives.  The  Queen  Zenobia, 
who,  it  is  alleged,  was  of  Jewish  extraction,  is  said  to  have 
secured  for  them  a  comfortable  position  in  Palmyra  (Tad- 
mor)  her  residence.  In  the  year  274  her  dynasty  was  over- 
thrown, and  the  Jews  went  to  Palestine.  In  622,  Mohammed, 
founder  of  a  new  religion,  the  Islam,  conquered  all  Arabia. 
He  at  first  treated  the  Jews  found  in  Arabia  with  considera- 
tion, but,  finding  that  the  new  doctrine  which  he  offered 
them  was  not  promptly  accepted — nay,  that  it  was  positively 
refused — hatred  sprung  up  in  his  heart,  which  gradually 
grew  and  became  intense.  Though  the  Torah  became  the 
source  from  which  his  book,  the  Koran,  emanated,  though  he 
recognized  next  to  Ismael  also  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  as 
patriarchs,  and  Moses  as  the  divine  prophet,  and  though 
whatever  knowledge  he  possessed  he  owed  to  the  learned 


THE  CARAITE8.  51 


Jew,  Ibn  Naufel,  he  was,  nevertheless,  most  intolerant  against 
the  Jews.  Before  his  death  he  expressed  the  wish  that  no 
unbeliever  or  dissenter  should  be  tolerated  in  the  land  of  the 
Moslems.  This  wish  or  order,  however,  was  not  carried  out, 
for  his  successors,  the  caliphs,  not  only  tolerated  the  Jews, 
but,  being  recognized  as  the  bearers  of  knowledge,  they  en- 
joyed their  high  esteem.  Islamism  soon  spread  over  the 
whole  Orient  in  Northern  Africa.  In  European  Turkey, 
Spain  and  everywhere  the  Jews  lived  peacefully  and  happily 
under  its  influence.  Their  schools  and  academies  flourished 
and  worked  successfully  upon  every  branch  of  science. 
Omar,  one  of  the  caliphs  succeeding  Mohammed,  bestowed 
the  dignity  of  Exilarch  upon  one  Bostenai;  while  Ali, 
Omar's  successor,  was  no  less  liberal  and  generous,  granting 
the  title  of  Gaon  (Highness)  to  the  director  of  the  high- 
school  at  Sura,  a  title  which  Babylonian  chiefs  of  schools  re- 
tained until  the  eleventh  century. 

III. — THE  CARAITES. 

In  the  year  762  a  new  sect  of  Jews  sprang  into  existence, 
this  time  in  the  Mohammedan  State.  This  sect  was  called 
Caraites.  Anan  ben  David,  a  man  living  under  the  caliphate 
of  Al  Mansur,  aspired  to  the  office  of  Resh  Gelutha  (Exi- 
larch). Being  unsuccessful,  he  formed  that  new  sect,  which, 
not  unlike  the  Sadducees  of  former  times,  aimed  at  the  strict 
observance  of  the  written  law  of  theTorah,and  nothing  else. 
In  this  establishment  of  a  new  sect,  Anan  merely  imitated 
the  example  of  the  Moslems,  in  whose  midst  the  Shi'ites 
were  once  a  party  rejecting  the  Mohammedan  tradition 
(Sunna).  The  name  Caraites  is  derived  from  Cara,  i.  «.,  to 
read,  and  only  what  they  read  in  the  Bible  was  considered 
binding ;  they  rejected,  however,  the  traditions  and  the  spir- 
itual conceptions  of  Scripture.  From  the  words  (Ex.  xxxv. 
3),  "  You  shall  kindle  no  fire  on  the  Sabbath  day,"  they  de- 


52  THE  JEWISH  CHAZARE3. 

duced  the  strict  prohibition  against  the  lighting  of  a  candle 
on  the  Sabbath.  The  Shabuoth  (feast  of  weeks)  they  always 
celebrated  on  a  Sunday ;  the  Shofar  (cornet  sound)  and  the 
Tifillin  (phylacteries)  they  took  figuratively.  Up  to  the  time 
of  the  Crusades  they  lived  in  Palestine,  where  they  had 
quite  a  number  of  followers ;  later  on  they  emigrated,  and 
settled  mostly  in  Russian  provinces.  About  400  of  them  may 
be  found  even  to  this  day  on  the  Crimean  peninsula,  at  Odessa 
and  other  places.  These  remnants  of  the  once  numerous 
sect  of  Caraites  are  distinguished  by  strict  honesty  and 
purity  of  morals.  Though  they  clung  to  the  letter  of  the 
Law,  they  were  spiritually  active,  nevertheless,  and  ably  de- 
fended their  doctrines,  to  which  fact  their  comprehensive 
literature  abundantly  testifies.  A  Caraitic  prayer-book  was 
written  by  Akron  ben  Joseph  in  the  thirteenth  century.  In 
1570  a  well-known  Caraite  was  Moses  Boshrazi,  who  is  the 
author  of  a  book  called  Matte  Elohim,  which  contains  the 
doctrines  of  faith  adopted  by  their  sect. 

IV. — THE  JEWISH  CHAZARES. 

A  new  Jewish  kingdom,  that  of  the  Chazares,  arose  simul- 
taneously with  the  empire  in  Russia.  This  new  Jewish 
realm  rose  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Caspian  Sea  and 
maintained  itself  during  a  few  centuries.  The  Chazares 
were  the  successors  of  the  warlike  Fins,  who  had  settled 
there  after  the  downfall  of  the  Huns,  their  tribal  relatives. 
Persecuted  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Byzantia  and  new  Per- 
sian States,  the  Jews  sought  and  found  protection  with  these 
Chazares.  The  princes  of  that  territory,  also  called  Cha- 
zanes,  respected  the  Jews  on  account  of  their  knowledge,  and 
they  were  made  the  interpreters  in  any  treaty  that  was  con- 
cluded with  the  neighboring  rulers.  Tn  the  eighth  century, 
one  of  those  Princes,  Chagan  Bulan,  with  his  family  and  his 
highest  dignitaries,  embraced  Judaism.    The   doctrines  of 


THE  GAONIM.  53 


this  religion  struck  deep  roots  and  were  finally  made  a  law ; 
thenceforth  all  kings  were  to  be  of  Mosaic  faith.  They  were 
tolerant  toward  Christians,  Mohammedans  and  heathens, 
and  permitted  them  to  remain  faithful  to  their  respective 
convictions  or  beUefs.  Of  the  further  history  of  this  king- 
dom there  is  but  meager  information  extant.  Not  until  the 
eleventh  century  was  the  existence  of  such  a  State  discov- 
ered, nor  of  the  eleven  Jewish  kings  who  had  ruled  it.  In 
1016,  the  Russian  Grand  Prince  Mietislow  defeated  David, 
the  last  of  the  Chazaric  princes,  whose  throne  was  over- 
thrown for  all  time. 

v.— THE  GAONIM. 

The  completion  of  the  Talmud  brought  in  its  wake  some 
changes,  which,  however,  affected  Judaism  only  externally. 
The  dignity  of  school  and  Nassi  was  lowered,  because  oral  in- 
struction had  ceased  to  be  a  necessity.  Gamaliel,  who  was 
deposed  from  his  office  in  429  for  reasons  unknown,  was  the 
last  of  the  Nassis  or  patriarchs.  But  neither  the  abolition 
of  that  office  nor  the  completion  of  the  Talmud  interfered 
with  the  continued  activity  of  the  Jewish  mind,  which  was 
rather  enhanced  by  the  efforts  of  the  rabbins  to  strengthen 
the  authority  of  the  Talmudical  code.  As  formerly  among 
Persians,  Greeks  and  Romans,  so  now  among  Arabians  did 
the  Jews  acquire  their  language  and  lore.  The  Sabureans, 
that  is,  arbitrators,  wrote  many  treatises  on  the  Talmud,  and 
besides  their  works  there  were  produced  many  philosophical 
writings  in  the  Arabic  language,  thus  bringing  about  an 
amalgamation  of  profane  and  theological  knowledge.  The 
Sabureans  maintained  themselves  for  only  about  one  century 
and  their  time  may  justly  be  designated  as  the  poorest  in 
Jewish  history.  After  the  Sabureans  came  the  Gaonim  (ex- 
alted), who  under  that  title  began  to  superintend  and  direct 
the  Jewish  academies  in  the  domain  of  the  Islam.    They 


54  THE  GAONIM. 


were  very  active  in  the  field  of  literature,  and  many  excellent 
works  of  the  Gaonim  period,  which  extended  to  the  eleventh 
century,  have  descended  to  us.  Although  the  Exilarch  had 
become  a  mere  figure-head,  and  his  dignity  a  mere  sound, 
while  the  Gaonim  were  vested  with  the  powers  of  the  former 
Sanhedrin,  yet  there  were  many  difficulties  and  quarrels  be- 
tween the  Exilarchs,  who  were  appointed  as  a  matter  of 
form,  and  the  Gaonim ;  and  the  former,  in  order  to  maintain 
their  dignity,  made  free*  use  of  the  Cherem  (anathema), 
which  they  hurled  against  their  antagonists. 
The  most  prominent  among  the  Gaonim  were : 

1.  Rabbi  Simon,  of  Kahira,  author  of  a  book  containing 
ritual  laws. 

2.  Rabbi  Achai,  of  Shabcha,  author  of  a  collection  of 
casuistic  researches  in  Deuteronomy. 

3.  Rabbi  Amram,  celebrated  for  the  order  of  prayers 
which.he  established. 

4.  Rabbi  Zemach  I.,  author  of  a  Talmudical  lexicon. 

6.  Rabbi  Nachshon,  an  eminent  astronomer,  who  issued  a 
table  for  a  new  almanac. 

6.  Rabbi  Saadya  Gaon,  undoubtedly  the  greatest  of  them 
all,  was  born  in  892  at  Fayum,  in  Egypt.  This  celebrated 
man  early  attracted  the  attention  of  all  for  the  vast  knowl- 
edge he  possessed.  He  was  elected  academical  chief  at  Sura 
at  a  time  when  Judaism  was  in  a  most  critical  condition,  on 
account  of  the  attacks  made  upon  it  by  the  Caraites  on  one 
side  and  by  Christianity  and  Islamism  on  the  other.  These 
attacks  were  severe  enough,  and  would  have  endangered,  if 
not  indeed  shattered,  the  Jewish  religion,  had  not  this  man, 
apparently  appointed  by  Providence,  undertaken  to  fight  for 
his  faith.  Armed  with  the  invincible  weapons  of  science,  he 
triumphantly  established  the  excellencies  of  Jewish  doctrines 
as  based  upon  sound  reason.  At  the  instigation  of  his  an- 
tagonists, who  considered  him  a  dangerous  innovator,  the 


THE  GAONIM.  66 


caliph  deposed  him  from  his  Gaonate.  But  he  was  soon  re- 
called, and  thenceforth  to  his  death,  in  942,  he  worked  inces- 
santly and  patiently  for  the  welfare  of  his  people.  The 
mourning  for  this,  one  of  the  greatest  men,  was  as  sincere  as 
it  was  universal.  A  few  points  of  his  life  may  find  a  place 
here.  He  was  a  man  of  firm  character,  striving  after 
truth;  his  sense  of  justice,  his  candor  and  his  true  piety 
were  genuine  pearls  that  glitter  in  the  diadem  of  his  mem- 
ory. At  the  age  of  thirty-six,  Saadya,  though  an  Egyptian, 
was  chosen  Gaon,  a  dignity  which  no  foreigner  before  him 
had  received,  and  at  once  he  devoted  himself  to  his  task. 
Soon  he  had  an  opportunity  to  prove  his  firmness  of  char- 
acter, and,  regardless  of  consequences,  to  maintain  the  truth 
against  his  superior.  Two  years  after  he  had  assumed  his 
dignity  there  was  a  case  which  required  his  signature  as 
Gaon.  He  refused  it.  The  Exilarch  pronounced  an  anathema 
against  him,  and  appointed  another  man  Gaon  in  Saadya's 
place.  Saadya  hurled  back  the  anathema  upon  David,  the 
Exilarch,  and  appointed  Josiah  Hassan  to  that  ofiice.  A 
rupture  ensued,  which  lasted  three  years,  when  Hassan  died. 
David  fully  reinstated,  Saadya  was  compelled  to  flee.  For 
seven  years  he  lived  in  perfect  seclusion  from  the  world, 
during  which  time  he  wrote  his  numerous  and  valuable 
works,  the  first  of  their  kind  that  had  ever  been  committed 
to  paper.  Among  the  numerous  works  published  by  this 
great  man,  the  one  entitled  "  Emmunoth  V'deoth  "  (faith  and 
science)  was  the  most  important. 

7.  Rabbi  Sherira  (930-1000  C.  E.),  author  of  a  history  of 
Jewish  teachers  in  letters,  and  of  many  theological  decisions. 
He,  too,  was  persecuted,  and,  by  order  of  Caliph  Achmed, 
imprisoned. 

8.  Rabbi  Hai  (997-1040  C.  E.),  celebrated  for  his  opinions 
on  religious  questions  and  for  his  kindness  and  humanity. 
In  him  the  Gaonate  lost  its  last  support,  for  when  Rabbi 


56  THE  JEWS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

Chiskia,  who  succeeded  Rabbi  Hai,  had  been  in  office  two 
years,  Caliph  Kadir  had  him  executed  without  just  cause, 
and  the  period  of  Gaonim  had  run  its  course. 

From  the  time  of  the  Gaonim  date  the  first  collections  of 
the  Midrash  (  i.  e.,  interpretation  of  the  Bible)  and  many  of 
our  prayers,  among  them  the  V'hu  Rachum,  formerly  re- 
cited on  Mondays  and  Thursdays.  While  the  Babylonian 
schools  thus  declined,  the  academies  in  Spain  rose  to  emi- 
nence and  became  celebrated. 

VI. — THE  UNHAPPY  FATE  OF  THE  JEWS. 

From  the  eleventh  to  the  sixteenth  century  the  Jews 
passed  through  a  most  lamentable  and  sad  period.  In  the 
land  of  the  Moslems  alone  they  were  comparatively  free.  In 
Christian  lands,  however,  their  fate  was  a  melancholy  one, 
indeed.  The  history  of  that  period  strongly  resembles  some 
copious  extracts  made  from  a  high-sheriff's  day-book.  Hated, 
despised,  spurned,  and  most  unmercifully  butchered.  The 
voice  of  humanity  was  silenced,  the  supreme  law  of  love 
proclaimed  by  Jesus  became  inoperative.  Wealth,  virtue, 
knowledge  and  talent,  which  the  Jews  possessed,  availed 
them  nothing.  With  all  the  purity,  morality,  loyalty  and 
submission  to  the  temporal  powers,  it  was  a  crime  in  their 
eyes  to  be  a  Jew.  Venturing  on  the  street,  he  became  an  object 
of  scorn,  and  was  exposed  to  the  vilification  and  insult  of  an 
ignorant,  unbridled,  merciless  people.  On  Sundays  or  other 
Christian  festivals,  it  was  not  safe  for  a  Jew  to  leave  his 
humble  dwelling.  The  exercise  of  religion,  their  devotion, 
could  not  be  held  openly,  but  in  subterranean  places — 
in  caves,  or  locked  cellars,  under  the  cover  of  night. 
Popes,  bishops,  monks,  and  especially  kings,  were  hostile 
toward  them.  Whatever  the  Jews  possessed,  especially  in 
Germany,  was  the  property  of  the  ruler,  who  could  and  did 
appropriate  to  himself  their  property  at  pleasure.     Charles 


Jf    Till 


THE  JEWS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  67 

IV.,  in  1349,  pawned  them  once  for  15,200  pounds  of  pen- 
nies, with  the  stipulation  that  should  the  pledges  die  before 
the  amount  was  repayed,  their  property  would  be  transferred 
to  the  creditors.  Most  arbitrarily  did  these  German  sove- 
reigns deal  with  the  Jews,  whom  they  considered  as  mere 
chattels.  Thus,  for  instance,  Emperor  Louis  granted  to 
Prince  William  I.,  in  1330,  the  privilege  of  admitting  twenty- 
four  more  Jews  into  his  estates.  Such  rights  and  privileges 
were  at  last  granted  to  all  princes  who  held  imperial  estates. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  hatred  which  the  Jews  experi- 
enced, they  became  indispensable  to  their  enemies  because 
of  their  wealth.  Trade  was  their  only  means  of  gaining  a 
livelihood,  and  because  they  were  thus  unjustly  dealt  with, 
and  required  to  pay  the  heaviest  taxes,  they  were  by  force  of 
circumstances  led  to  become  usurers.  Still,  proscriptive 
laws  were  passed  against  the  Jews;  they  were  prohibited 
from  taking  high  rates  of  interest,  and  yet  even  princes 
and  prelates  were  at  times  compelled  to  raise  money  by 
giving  the  Jews  as  pledges  their  estates  or  holy  books, 
robes,  etc.  They  were  rigidly  excluded  from  every  public 
office  of  trust,  and  yet  the  landed  proprietors  not  sel- 
dom appointed  a  Jew  to  the  office  of  supervisor.  They 
were  strictly  prohibited  from  having  Christian  servants  or 
Christian  nurses ;  and  yet  this  law  was  often  violated,  be- 
cause the  Jews  paid  higher  wages.  There  was  a  law  prohib- 
iting the  Jews  from  giving  a  party  for  more  than  twelve 
persons ;  their  clothing  had  to  be  of  coarse  cloth ;  they  were 
allowed  to  wear  no  fur  except  the  skin  of  calves.  Any  wrong 
done  a  Jew  could  be  made  good  by  a  trifling  sum  of  money. 
Plundering,  robbing  them  of  their  wealth,  was  a  daily  occuf- 
rence  in  every  country.  In  Magdeburg,  Germany,  in  1261, 
on  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  the  archbishop  had  all  the 
wealthy  Jews  arrested,  and  a  ransom  of  100,000  marks  was 
put  upon  them.     In  France,  in  1182,  they  took  their  money 


58  THE  JEWS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

and  drove  them  out  of  the  country.  Under  Louis  IX.,  in 
1230,  they  were  sold  from  hand  to  hand,  like  any  article  of 
barter.  In  England  they  were  likewise  a  football  of  fate, 
now  banished,  now  recalled,  now  protected  and  now  op- 
pressed. Cromwell  favored  them,  and  during  his  protector- 
ate they  were  recalled  and  tolerated.  The  treatment  they  ex- 
perienced was  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  chase  after 
Jewish  souls.  But  while  the  Jews  were  often  forced  to  sub- 
mit to  baptism,  they  sometimes  offered  obstinate  resistance. 
Thus  they  followed  the  new  converts  in  Frankfort  up  to  the 
entrance  of  the  church,  to  oppose  their  baptism,  and  out  of 
204  only  twenty-four  were  baptized;  the  other  180  were 
killed.  The  greatest  oppression  and  most  fearful  persecu- 
tion came  in  the  wake  of  the  Crusades,  which  began  in  the 
eleventh  century.  The  worst  kind  of  fanaticism  character- 
ized the  age,  and  murder  was  an  every-day  occurrence. 

Falkmar  Gottshalk  and  Count  Emigo  enrolled  crowds  of 
followers  in  Saxony  and  Thuringia,  and  started  out  to  mur- 
der the  Jews.  In  Cologne  the  houses  and  places  of  worship 
of  the  Jews  were  pulled  down.  In  Worms  they  were  com- 
pelled to  become  converts,  but  many  preferred  becoming  sui- 
cides. In  many  countries  on  the  Rhine  mothers  killed  their 
own  children  to  save  them  from  the  bloodthirsty  mob.  In 
Trier  most  of  the  Jews  were  killed.  Many  became  public 
converts,  while  in  secret  they  observed  with  devotion  the 
Jewish  faith.  In  Spire  and  Mayence  the  blood  of  the  Jews 
deluged  the  cities  and  cried  for  vengeance.  The  Crusaders, 
however,  who  were  little  better  than  highway  robbers,  were 
defeated  by  the  Bulgarians,  the  agents  of  retributive  justice. 

In  the  Second  Crusade  the  Jews  in  several  French  cities 
suffered  the  agonies  of  their  brethren  in  Germany,  the  vic- 
tims of  the  First  Crusade.  Incited  by  the  monk  Rudolph, 
the  mob  plundered,  abused  and  massacred  them.  The  un- 
heard of  charge  of  infanticide  was  preferred   against  the 


THE  JEWS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  59 

French  Jews.  They  had  killed — thus  the  unreasonable  and 
violent  soldiers  of  the  cross  averred  —  a  Christian  child,  to 
use  its  blood  for  their  Passover  celebration,  as  if  the  use  of 
blood  had  not  been  strictly  forbidden  by  their  law.  Yet  it  was 
maintained,  and  many  of  the  wrongly  accused  were  burned 
alive.  Similar  charges  were  raised  in  Germany,  where  Con- 
rad III.  and  several  bishops  sought  to  protect  them.  In  Wurz- 
burg,  Munich,  Nuremberg  and  many  other  cities,  there  flowed 
rivers  of  Jewish  blood.  But  they  did  not  stop  here.  When 
the  charge  of  infanticide  had  lost  its  power,  they  advanced 
another  accusation,  and  positively  asserted  that  the  Jews 
had  desecrated  and  defiled  the  host,  and  again  they  were  ac- 
cused of  poisoning  wells,  and  by  such  means  the  fury  and 
excitement  against  the  Jews  were  kept  up.  In  Switzerland, 
in  Austria  and  in  Bohemia,  systematic  persecutions  of  the 
Jews  were  witnessed.  In  Nordhausen,  a  city  in  Germany, 
they  show  to  this  day  the  so-called  Jew  towers,  with  tomb- 
stones from  the  thirteenth  century,  where  the  whole  congre- 
gation, 600  families,  with  their  rabbi,  suffered  death  by  fire 
to  escape  compulsory  baptism. 

In  the  Third  Crusade,  the  Jews  of  England  in  general,  and 
particularly  those  of  London  and  York,  suffered  many  hard- 
ships. They  offered  ransom,  but  this  only  postponed  the 
butchery  until  the  money  was  paid.  King  John  caused  the 
teeth  of  a  Jew  to  be  extracted  by  force,  and  the  poor  victim 
was  not  released  until  he  had  paid  10,000  marks  in  silver ; 
and  the  yellow  badge,  which  Pope  Innocent  III.  had  ordered 
the  Jews  to  wear  on  their  clothes  as  a  sign  of  their  race,  was 
likewise  adopted  for  the  British  Jews.  The  Dominican 
monks  tore  Jewish  children  away  from  their  parents  and 
brought  them  up  in  the  Christian  faith.  In  the  year  1290, 
all  the  Jews  were  banished  from  England,  but  even  this  emi- 
gration was  attended  by  severe  trouble.  When  the  vessel 
carrying  the  banished  Jews  across  the  Thames,  came  to  a  sand- 


60  THE  JEWS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

bank,  the  captain  caused  them  all  to  disembark,  and  left  them 
there,  saying,  with  scorn  in  his  words  and  looks  :  "  Moses, 
who  brought  you  through  the  Red  Sea,  may  bring  you  upon 
dry  land." 

The  sufferings  of  the  Jews  in  Spain  baffle  any  attempts  at 
description.  In  Seville,  Valencia,  Toledo,  Barcelona  and 
Cordova,  there  were  but  two  alternatives,  either  cruel  death  or 
baptism.  The  Inquisition,  a  clerical  court  composed  of  the 
most  fanatical  judges,  instituted  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
for  the  extermination  of  heresy  in  the  Catholic  Church, 
largely  and  fiercely  affected  the  Jews.  And  when  Ferdinand 
V.  and  Pius  II.  heard  of  the  secret  religious  meetings  of 
these  Jews  who  had  outwardly  submitted  to  baptism,  that 
bloody  court  caused  the  execution  of  2,000  of  them,  while 
many  were  thrown  into  dungeons.  Thomas  Torquemada, 
the  great  Inquisitor,  succeeded  in  securing  the  passage  of  a 
decree  of  banishment,  promulgated  by  Ferdinand  V.  and 
Isabella,  by  which  all  Jews  were  excluded  from  Spain.  Only 
four  months'  time  was  given  the  unfortunate  Jews,  during 
which  they  could  dispose  of  their  estates  and  property ;  after 
that  time,  however,  they  were  forbidden,  under  penalty  of 
death,  to  remain  or  be  seen  in  Spain.  Don  Isaac  Abarbanel, 
a  celebrated  Hebrew  scholar,  prostrated  himself  before  the 
Queen,  imploring  her  to  revoke  the  cruel  edict  of  banish- 
ment, and  to  permit  his  brethren  to  remain  in  a  country 
which  they  loved,  and  to  which  they  were .  so  warmly  at- 
tached. When  words  and  entreaties  were  exhausted,  he  of- 
fered the  covetous  king  30,000  ducats  toward  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  Moorish  wars.  During  this  audience,  and 
while  these  negotiations  went  on,  Torquemada,  crucifix  in 
hand,  entered  the  room  in  which  Abarbanel  pleaded  before 
the  royal  pair,  threw  the  crucifix  upon  the  table,  and,  ex- 
claiming angrily,  "  Judas  Iscariot  sold  his  master  for  thirty 
pieces  of  silver ;  your  majesties  are  about  to  do  it  for  30.000 


THE  JEWS  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  dl 

ducats ;  here  he  is,  take  him  and  barter  him  away,"  left  the 
room.  This  decided  the  fate  of  the  Jews.  The  decree  was 
enforced.  About  300,000  of  them  were  obliged  to  leave  their 
beloved  homes  (1495  C.  E.).  They  emigrated  to  Africa, 
Italy,  Turkey  and  Portugal.  Misery  and  want,  sickness 
and  famine,  claimed  the  lives  of  many  thousands  of  them. 

Nor  were  they  better  treated  in  Portugal,  from  whence,  in 
1506,  they  were  banished  by  King  Emanuel,  whose  mother- 
in-law,  Isabella  of  Spain,  threatened  to  renounce  him  if  he 
tolerated  the  enemies  of  Christ.  When,  years  later,  they 
could  settle  in  Portugal  again,  they  had  to  wear  a  yellow  hat, 
by  which  they  were  distinguished.  Since  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury the  governments  of  Germany,  France  and  Italy  found 
it  advisable  to  assign  the  Jews  certain  streets  in  which  they 
were  to  live,  in  order  to  be  secure  against  the  attacks  of  the 
mob.  These  streets  were  called  Jews'  quarters,  or  Ghettos, 
and  were  provided  with  gates,  which  were  shut  every  evening 
and  opened  every  morning.  (Joseph  I.,  Emperor  of  Austria, 
was  the  first  in  Germany  who  permitted  the  Jews  to  live  out- 
side of  the  Ghettos.)  A  second  sign  of  the  dark  spirit 
which  ruled  by-gone  ages  was  the  decree  which  compelled 
every  Jew  to  wear  some  degrading  badge  or  peculiar  garment 
by  which  he  was  distinguished.  Even  as  late  as  the  time  of 
Frederick  WiUiam  I.,  King  of  Prussia  (1713  C.  E.),  the  Jews 
living  in  his  kingdom  were  obliged  to  wear  green  hats.  A 
third  and  still  more  oppressive  feature  was  the  personal  toll. 
In  consideration  of  certain  payments,  they  could  obtain 
armed  escorts  to  protect  their  lives  and  property ;  this  per- 
sonal toll  was  levied  even  when  the  greater  security  of  the 
public  thoroughfares  made  an  armed  escort  superfluous. 
Every  Jew  wishing  to  enter  a  foreign  country  or  the  gates  of 
any  city  was  compelled  to  pay  a  toll,  without  which  the  tax- 
receiver  refused  him  admission.  Not  before  1787  was  this 
degrading  law  repealed,  under  Joseph  II.,  and  done  away 


62  THE  FRIENDS  OP  THE  JEWS. 

with  in  Germany  and  Austria.  In  like  manner,  the  Jews* 
oath,  that  disgrace  to  humanity,  was  abolished  in  modern 
days.  The  cause  of  all  these  horrors  was  by  no  means  the 
teachings  of  Christianity,  which  recommends  love  to  every- 
one, but  the  ignorance,  coarseness  and  animal  passions  of 
fanatic  priests  and  mobs.  Yet  there  were  at  all  times  and 
in  all  countries  laymen,  clergymen,  scholars  and  poets  among 
the  Christians  who  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Jews 
and  protected  them ;  and  Emperor  Matthias  caused  the  exe- 
cution of  a  baker,  Vincenz  Fettmilch,  who,  with  his  fellows, 
incited  the  populace  to  plunder  and  massacre  the  Jews 
(1400  C.  E.). 

VII. — THE  FRIENDS  OF  THE  JEWS. 

Amid  all  their  troubles  the  Jews  had  the  gratification  to 
know  that  their  friends  were  always  among  the  best  of  the 
land.    We  shall  mention  but  a  few  of  them : 

Charlemagne,  who  granted  them  full  religious  liberty  and 
permitted  them  to  hold  public  office.  He  himself  employed 
a  Jew  in  some  diplomatic  negotiations,  and  held  frequent 
intercourse  with  a  Jewish  merchant. 

Louis  the  Pious  created  an  office,  the  occupant  of  which, 
"  Magister  Judseorum,"  was  to  administer  Jewish  affairs. 
Zedekiah,  a  Jew,  was  his  physician.  The  weekly  markets 
that  were  held  on  the  Sabbath  he  postponed  to  another  day 
out  of  deference  to  the  faithful  Jews. 

Charles  the  Bald  established  perfect  equality  between  Jew 
and  Christian. 

Henry  IV.  protected  the  Jews  and  punished  any  who 
wronged  or  persecuted  them. 

Rudolph  of  Hapsburg  even  made  war  on  those  who  falsely 
accused  the  Jews  of  different  crimes. 

Rudolph  II.,  Maximilian  II.  and  Frederick  II.  were  among 
the  German  emperors  who  showed  favor  to  the  Jews. 


THE  FRIENDS  OP  THE  jpWS. 


In  Spain  there  were  Alphonso  IV.,  whom  Gregory,  the 
Pope,  reproached  with  exalting  the  **  synagogue  of  Satan 
above  the  Church  of  Christ ;"  Alphonso  VIII.  and  Alphonso 
X.,  who  treated  the  Jews  with  great  distinction ;  Don  Pedro 
the  Cruel  was  their  true  friend  and  protector,  his  treasurer 
being  one  Levy  (1537  C.  E.),  who  erected  a  beautiful  syna- 
gogue at  Toledo. 

In  Portugal  John  II.  made  use  of  the  scientific  acquire- 
ments of  the  Jews,  when  ordering  the  circumnavigation  of 
Africa. 

In  Poland  Casimir  the  Great  and  Sobiesky  deserve  to  be 
mentioned  as  friends  of  the  Jews. 

In  Russia,  Peter  the  Great. 

In  Sweden,  King  Christian  and  his  wife. 

In  Venice  they  were  always  treated  with  justice  and  im- 
partiality. 

In  Livorno  Ferdinand  I.  evinced  friendhness,  and  King 
Roger,  in  Naples,  on  his  deathbed  enjoined  his  sons  to  be 
kind  to  the  Jews,  whom  he  ever  had  found  faithful. 

Even  some  of  the  great  dignitaries  of  the  Church  were  at 
times  the  protectors  of  the  Jews,  and  popes  and  bishops  not 
seldom  took  their  part  against  the  mob  and  some  cruel 
kings ;  thus  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  under  penalty  of  excommu- 
nication, interdicted  PhiUp  II.  and  Louis  the  Saint  from  ill- 
treating  the  Jews.  Innocent  IV.,  in  1244,  wrote  letters  to  the 
bishops  of  Germany  and  France,  in  which  he  greatly  depre- 
cated the  injustice  done  to  the  Jews,  and  urgently  recom- 
mended them  to  the  kindness  of  both  the  clergy  and  the 
laity ;  he  also  censured  them  for  accusing  the  Jews  falsely 
and  holding  them  accountable  for  what  they  never  did. 

Literary  men,  too,  of  high  repute  and  distinction,  espoused 
their  cause ;  for  instance  :  Hugo  Grotius,  the  eminent  jurist, 
Calvin,  Wagenseil,  Sebastian  Munster,  Cameron,  Ulric, 
Zchokke,  and  many  others.    In  like  manner  the  celebrated 


64  JEWISH  LIFE  AND  WORK. 

scholar,  John  Reuchlin,  proved  his  friendship  for  the  Jews, 
and  when,  in  1509,  an  apostate  Jew,  by  the  name  of  John 
Pfefferkorn,  who  was  the  overseer  of  the  lunatic  asylum  in 
Cologne,  rose  up  against  Judaism  and  asserted  that  if  the 
Talmud  should  be  taken  from  the  Jews  they  would  embrace 
Christianity,  John  Reuchlin  ably  defended  the  Jews  and 
their  literature  from  the  slanderous  attacks  of  the  convert, 
and  frustrated  his  evil  designs.  Even  Martin  Luther,  the 
father  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  who  by  no  means 
loved  the  Jews,  turned  against  their  persecutors,  and  in  1523 
wrote  on  that  subject  as  follows :  "  Our  fools,  the  Papists, 
bishops  and  monks,  have  hitherto  treated  the  Jews  so  shame- 
fully that  any  good  Christian  might  have  wished  to  become 
a  Jew.  They  have  dealt  with  them  as  one  deals  with  a  dog, 
not  with  a  human  being.  They  are  blood  relatives,  brothers 
of  our  Lord.  I,  therefore,  beg  of  the  Papists,  if  they  are  tired 
of  calling  me  heretic,  that  they  begin  to  nickname  me  Jew." 
Thus  there  were  at  all  times  noble-minded  non-Israelites, 
who  warmly  defended  the  cause  of  Judaism,  and  whose  hu- 
manity and  justice  entitle  them  and  their  memory  to  Israel's 
eternal  gratitude. 

VIII. — JEWISH  LIFE  AND  WORK. 

The  indescribable  sorrows  and  humiliations  of  the  Jews 
could  but  make  them  appear  depressed  and  cowardly  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world.  Yet  inwardly  they  retained  a  stout  heart,  a 
clear  mind,  a  love  for  the  divine  law,  for  religious  life  and  sci- 
ence. Strictly  virtuous,  temperate,  modest  and  unassuming  in 
their  mode  of  living,  they  found  in  the  family  circle  and  in 
their  domestic  relations  the  highest  pleasure  and  most  perfect 
happiness.  They  were  with  very  few  exceptions  excluded 
from  all  public  offices,  trades,  agricultural  pursuits  and  pos- 
session of  real  estate ;  they  were  compelled  to  earn  a  scanty 
livelihood  by  small  trades,  in  which  they  were  greatly  bar- 


JEWISH  LIFE  AND  WORK.  65 

rassed ;  and  yet  they  were  contented  and  happy  if,  after  six 
days  of  hard  toil,  they  could  spend  the  Sabbath  in  the  circle 
of  their  beloved  families,  and  with  the  dear  ones  observe  the 
commands  of  God.  In  the  house  of  God,  which  was  at  the 
same  time  the  place  of  learning  (Beth  Ham  Midrash),  the 
study  of  the  Torah  and  Talmud  was  a  prominent  factor;  and 
while  all  participated  in  that  study,  it  was  particularly  the 
young  who  were  expected  to  profit  most.  Religious  training 
was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  sacred  duties  devolving 
upon  parents,  and  there  was  none,  the  poorest  not  excepted, 
who  did  not  earnestly  and  sincerely  seek  to  secure  for  his 
children  (sons  or  daughters),  a  thorough  and  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  the  precepts,  doctrines  and  statutes  of  religion.  The 
rabbis,  who  were  given  the  title  of  Morenu  (our  teacher),  stood 
in  high  esteem  with  young  and  old.  They  decided  in  doubtful 
religious  matters,  they  were  the  arbiters  in  all  controversies, 
they  instructed,  admonished  and  exhorted  the  people ;  they 
arranged  divine  service  and  strongly  advocated  the  fear  of 
God  and  the  purity  of  morals.  Hebrew  poets  wrote  sublime 
poetical  prayers,  which  were  incorporated  in  the  ritual  for 
holy-days,  and  were  known  by  the  name  of  Piyutim.  The 
manner,  custom,  habit  and  mode  of  devotion,  Minhag,  dif- 
fered somewhat,  and  the  Jews  were  accordingly  distinguished 
as  Ashkenazim,  i.  e.,  Germans,  Polanders,  with  Austrians, 
Bohemians,  Moravians  and  Silesians ;  Sefardim — Portuguese, 
Spaniards,  Italians,  etc. 

Besides  religion,  which  flourished  at  this  time,  science  also 
took  a  prominent  position  and  high  rank.  The  favorite 
study  of  the  Jews  was  medicine,  and  many  Jewish  physicians 
acted  in  a  professional  capacity  at  the  courts  of  famous 
kings.  Thus  the  celebrated  Maimonides  was  physician  to 
King  Salaheddin,  of  Egypt;  Rabbi  Meir  to  the  King  of  Cas- 
tile ;  Zedekiah  was  physician  to  Louis  the  Pious,  of  France, 
and  Elias  Montalto  to  Queen  Marie,  of   Medicis.    Some 


JEWISH  LIFE  AND  WORK. 


fathers  of  the  Church  raised  the  question  as  to  whether  a  Jew 
could  be  appointed  medical  adviser  of  crowned  heads ;  the 
question  was  answered  in  the  negative,  and  yet  Pope  Boni- 
face XI.,  Pope  Julius  III.,  and  others,  appointed  Jews 
for  their  physicians.  Of  Francis  I.,  in  France,  it  is  re- 
lated that,  when  once  seriously  sick,  he  requested  Charles  V.» 
Emperor  of  Germany,  to  send  him  a  Jewish  doctor.  The 
Emperor  sent  a  convert,  but  Francis  refused  to  accept  his 
services,  and  said  he  had  plenty  of  Christian  physicians,  but 
needed  the  assistance  of  a  Jew. 

As  philosophers,  astronomers  and  mathematicians,  the 
Jews  occupied  an  exalted  station.  Even  eminent  and  schol- 
arly non-Israelites  assert  that  the  Jews  in  the  Middle  Ages 
were  the  only  mediators  between  the  Oriental  and  Occidental 
culture.  Nor  were  they  less  prominent  as  warriors,  and 
that,  notwithstanding  their  being  mostly  excluded  from  mili- 
tary service.  In  the  tenth  century  they  assisted  the  Chris- 
tians in  driving  out  of  Bohemia  the  robbers  that  infested  the 
country,  for  which  the  synagogue  at  Prague  was  given  them 
as  a  reward.  In  the  thirteenth  century  30,000  Jews  were  en- 
listed in  the  French  army.  Yet  it  was  reserved  for  modern 
times  to  exhibit  their  military  valor  and  bravery.  Under 
Napoleon  I.  many  Jews  were  raised  to  the  ranks  of  general 
and  Knight  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  In  1781  the  Jewish 
naval  captain,  Almeida,  fought  gallantly  against  England, 
and  the  late  wars  on  this  side  of  the  ocean,  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  have  shown  clearly  and  irrefutably  how  nobly  and 
bravely  the  Jews  fight  for  their  country,  and  how  many 
marks  of  distinction  they  receive  in  consequence.  Yet  their 
ideal  was  never  war  and  bloodshed.  Peace  was  what  they 
always  loved,  as  most  adapted  for  the  development  of  the 
spirit  of  humanity,  of  culture  and  science,  as  most  product- 
ive of  excellent  fruit.  Of  the  many  eminent  and  celebrated 
men  of  science  who  lived  in  the  Middle  Ages,  we  mention : 


SOLOMON  IBN  GABIROL.  67 

1.  Solomon  Ibn  Gabirol;  2.  Jehuda  Halevi;  3.  Abra- 
ham Ibn  Ezra;  4.  Maimonides,  or  Rabbi  Moses  ben  Mai- 
mon;  5.  Nachmanides;  6.  Abarbanel;  7.  Rashi;  and,  8. 
Alfasi. 

The  short  biographies  of  these  men  follow  here. 

IX. — SOLOMON  IBN  GABIROL 

Was  born  at  Malaga  in  the  year  1020,  and  died  at  Valencia 
in  1070.  He  was  celebrated  and  greatly  admired  as  a  poet 
and  philosopher.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  composed  a 
Hebrew  grammar  in  verse.  His  synagogical  songs  excel 
in  beautiful  language  and  sublime  sentiments.  His  poet- 
ical masterpiece,  however,  is  his  "  Kether  Malchuth  "  (Crown 
of  Royalty),  composed  for  the  glorification  of  God.  This 
work  has  been  translated  into  many  different  languages. 
Another  work  from  Gabirol's  pen,  entitled  "Fons  Vitae" 
(Fountain  of  Life),  gives  evidence  of  his  clear,  incisive  and 
deep  reasoning  powers,  and  enjoyed  the  greatest  popularity 
also  in  non-Jewish  circles.  Among  Christians,  Solomon  Ibn 
Gabirol  is  known  by  the  name  of  Avicenna.  Of  the  inci- 
dents of  his  life  we  know  very  little ;  of  his  death,  however, 
the  following  report  is  current:  There  lived  an  Arabian 
writer,  who  greatly  envied  Gabirol.  Unable  to  put  him  out 
of  the  way,  he  invited  him  to  his  house,  murdered  and  bur- 
ied him  under  a  fig-tree.  That  tree  ever  after  bore  excellent 
fruit. 

The  king,  hearing  of  it,  made  inquiry  of  the  fortunate 
possessor  of  the  tree,  who  eventually  confessed  his  dark 
deed.  The  murderer  was  executed,  the  remains  of  the  dead 
poet  were  exhumed,  and,  with  due  honors,  buried  by  the 
Jews.  Short  as  was  his  life,  he  nevertheless  accomplished 
wonders  in  the  field  of  poetry.  The  following  is  a  tranela- 
tion  of  one  of  his  effusions  : 


68  JEHUDA  HALEVI. 


"  Girt  with  power,  I  shall  not  rest 
Until  what  I  have  vowed  shall  be  accomplished. 
Though  time  shall  prove  me,like  the  furnace  gold, 
Yet  unto  wisdom  I  my  allegiance  hold. 
Though  time  refuse  me  speed  and  expedition, 
Yet  will  I  dare  and  do,  and  not  grow  cold ; 
And  with  brave  heart,  with  courage  undaunted, 
Toil  on,  persist,  until  I  shall  have  won. 
Often  with  fate  have  I  had  struggle, 
And,  though  no  conqueror,  I  neither  was  the  conquered." 

— After  Geiger, 
X. — JEHUDA  HALEVI, 

A  man  highly  celebrated  in  Israel,  even  to  this  day,  was 
born  in  Toledo  in  1086.  His  poetical  effusions  are  deeply 
touching,  and  have  been  largely  incorporated  into  the  prayer- 
books  for  Israelites.  In  his  "  Zionides,"  a  collection  of 
poems  expressive  of  his  warm  affection  for  the  Holy  Land, 
which  were  formerly  read  on  the  anniversary  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  (ninth  day  of  Ab),  he  combines  fervor  of 
feeling  with  sublimity  of  expression.  Heine,  the  German 
poet,  said  of  him :  "  Yes,  he  was  a  great  poet,  a  star  and 
torch  of  his  time ;  his  songs  a  pillar  of  fire  that  preceded  Is- 
rael in  the  wilderness  of  his  exile."  His  longings  for  Jeru- 
salem he  expressed  in  words  that  seem  inspired.  A  faint 
idea  of  them  may  be  conveyed  by  the  following : 

"  O  city  of  the  world,  beautiful  and  majestic, 
For  thee  I  long  from  distant  Western  home. 
O  that  on  eagle's  wings  to  the  thee  I  might  come  nigh, 
That  with  my  tearful  face  T  could  but  touch  thy  dust ! 
Though  kingless,  crownless  now,  yet  do  I  yearn  for  thee ; 
Though  serpents  vile  be  now  where  erst  sweet  honey  flowed, 
O  could  I  kiss  thy  dust  or  tread  thy  ground, 
I'd  ask  no, more ;  my  longing  would  be  stilled." 

—After  Sachs, 


ABRAHAM  IBN  EZRA, 


Amid  greatest  dangers  he  at  last  undertook  a  pilgrimage 
toward  that  city  of  the  Lord,  never  more  to  return  to  his  na- 
tive Spain.  While  lost  in  contemplation  of  the  ruins  of  the 
sanctuary,  bathed  in  tears  at  the  sight,  he  heard  not  the 
voice  of  an  Arabian  on  horseback,  and  was  trampled  be- 
neath the  hoofs  of  the  fiery  steed.  Jehuda  Halevi,  the  fer- 
vent, poUshed  and  accomplished  poet,  was  also  a  philosopher 
of  great  renown.  His  greatest  work  is  the  "  Cusari,"  so 
called  from  having  for  its  central  figure  the  King  of  Chazare, 
The  book,  written  in  the  Arabian  language,  treats  of  the  con- 
version to  Judaism  of  that  prince,  Bulan.  It  is  in  the  form 
of  a  dialogue,  held  by  the  King  of  Chazare,  first  with  a  Chris- 
tian, then  with  a  Moslem,  and  last  with  a  Jew,  who,  by  his 
logical  and  rational  exposition  of  the  Mosaic  faith,  won  him 
over  to  Judaism. 

XI. — ABRAHAM  IBN  EZRA 

Was  born  of  very  poor  parents,  in  the  year  1089.  He  de- 
voted himself  early  in  life  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 
Highly  gifted  by  nature,  and  working  with  indefatigable  zeal 
for  eminence  and  celebrity,  he  succeeded  in  gaining  both. 
In  theology,  philosophy,  mathematics,  medicine,  astronomy 
and  languages,  he  acquired  great  distinction.  In  his  insa- 
tiable thirst  for  wisdom  he  undertook  many  journeys,  sought 
savans,  and  learned  from  all.  Many  writings  were  the  result 
of  his  endeavors,  part  of  which  he  completed  in  England, 
and  part  in  Italy.  He  visited  India  and  Palestine,  and 
wherever  the  poorly-clad  scholar  came,  he  was  received  with 
great  honors.  In  one  of  his  gravels  he  came  to  Jehuda 
Halevi,  whose  wealthy,  well-educated  and  highly-accom- 
plished daughter  he  obtained  in  marriage,  in  a  most  singular 
manner.  Ibn  Ezra,  who  was  then  already  quite  a  celebrity, 
concealed  his  name  and  his  knowledge  from  Halevi,  whoso' 
disciple  he  was  eager  to  become.    Jehuda  Halevi  accepted 


70  MAIMONIDES. 


him  as  his  pupil,  and  taught  him  the  rudiments  of  Jewish 
lore.  One  evening  the  master  remained  at  his  study  longer 
than  was  his  wont ;  the  meal  was  ready,  and  the  household, 
to  which  Ibn  Ezra  also  belonged,  had  waited  for  him  long 
and  in  vain.  At  last  he  came,  and,  by  way  of  excusing  his 
tardiness,  said  that  he  had  been  working  at  a  poem,  which 
he  was  unable  to  JSnish.  The  new  scholar  looked  it  over, 
made  some  alterations,  wrote  the  conclusion,  and,  thus  com- 
plete, handed  it  back  to  his  master.  The  rabbi  perused  it, 
found  it  perfect,  embraced  Ibn  Ezra  and  exclaimed  :  "  You 
are  certainly  none  other  than  the  celebrated  Ibn  Ezra ;  no 
son-in-law  could  be  more  welcome  than  you  are."  Soon 
thereafter  the  poor  young  man  celebrated  his  nuptials  with 
the  wealthy  daughter  of  Halevi.  At  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight,  it  is  said,  he  died  at  Rhodes,  where  he  is  supposed  to 
be  buried. 

Xn. — MAIMONIDES, 

Also  called  Rabbi  Moses  ben  Maimon,  by  far  surpassed  aU 
his  contemporaries.  No  other  man  has  erected  for  himself 
80  proud  and  so  lasting  a  monument  among  the  scholars 
of  Israel  as  this  great,  profound  and  original  thinker.  Mai- 
monides  was  born  in  Cordova,  on  the  14th  day  of  Nissan, 
1135.  In  his  earlier  years,  it  is  said,  he  exhibited  neither 
taste  nor  inclination  for  study.  His  father  grieved  very 
niuch  at  this,  and  not  only  severely  reprimanded  him  for  his 
laziness,  but  locked  him  up  in  his  room.  This  had  the  de- 
sired effect.  The  boy  wept,  and  promised  to  do  better.  He 
traveled  on  foot  to  Lucenna,  where  he  enrolled  himself  as  a 
pupil  of  Rabbi  Joseph  ben  Meir.  This  earnest  and  conscien- 
tious teacher  took  great  pains  with  the  promising  youth,  while 
he  (the  boy)  was  assiduous  in  his  task,  working  unceasingly, 
and  with  the  chief  object  in  view  of  some  day   affording 


MAIMONIDES.  71 


pleasure  to  his  father,  who  was  ignorant  of  the  whereabouts 
of  his  son,  and  thought  he  had  lost  him  forever. 

After  twenty  years  of  hard  study,  Maimonides  returned  to 
Cordova,  his  native  place.  But  instead  of  going  first  to  his 
parental  house,  he  went  to  the  president  of  the  congregation, 
requesting  his  permission  to  occupy  the  pulpit  on  the  follow- 
ing Sabbath.  The  news  of  the  arrival  of  a  foreign  rabbi 
spread  rapidly  through  his  native  city,  and  curiosity,  excite- 
ment and  expectation  were  great.  The  appointed  day  came. 
A  crowded  synagogue  greeted  the  stranger,  who  had  made 
a  favorable  impression  upon  all  who  had  made  his  acquaint- 
ance. The  young  rabbi  began  his  lecture,  the  manner 
and  matter  of  which  carried  away  the  multitudes  that 
thronged  the  sacred  edifice.  Among  the  hearers  there  w^as 
also  an  old,  venerable  man,  who  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  rabbi  as  he  left  the  pulpit.  It  was  the  father  of  Mai- 
monides. The  old  man,  on  seeing  this  young  rabbi,  be- 
thought himself  of  his  son,  whom  he  supposed  dead,  and 
wept,  while  Maimonides  approached  the  father,  whom  he  re- 
oognized,  and,  embracing  him  with  tearful  eyes,  said  :  "  I  am 
your  son ;  do  you  find  me  unworthy  to  appear  before  you?  " 
The  overjoyed  and  highly-elated  father  pressed  him  to  his 
heart,  took  him  home,  and  there  he  continued  his  studies 
with  diligence  and  assiduity;  not  only  of  the  Talmud,  but 
of  Arabian  literature,  philosophy,  medicine,  etc.  These  sci- 
entific investigations  he  successfully  strove  to  harmonize 
with  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  Judaism,  and  his  cele- 
brated work,  "More  Nebuchim"  (Guide  of  the  Strayed), 
thoroughly  illustrates  and  systematizes  his  theories.  In  the 
year  1148  the  Jews  of  Cordova  were  compelled  either  to  re- 
nounce their  faith  and  embrace  the  teachings  of  Moham- 
med or  to  emigrate.  Maimonides  went  to  Africa.  In  the 
year  1165  he  left  Fez  for  Palestine.  This  trip,  made  by 
water,  was   fraught  with  many   dangers.    Arrived   in  the 


72  MAIMONIDES. 


Holy  Land,  he  visited  all  the  sacred  spots,  and  set  out 
again  for  Africa,  settled  in  Fostat,  practiced  medicine  and 
gained  great  renown  and  success  in  his  profession.  He  also 
continued  his  work  in  the  Talmudical  science,  and  the  fruit 
thereof  was  the  Commentary  to  the  Mishna,  completed  about 
1166,  in  his  thirtieth  year.  After  this  he  wrote  the  "  Yad 
Hachasaka"  (Strong  Hand),  a  code  comprising  fourteen 
books,  a  systematic  arrangement  of  all  Talmudical  doc- 
trines. 

When  Turkey  extended  her  dominion  over  Egypt,  Mai- 
monides  became  acquainted  with  one  of  the  most  prominent 
generals,  through  whose  influence  he  was  appointed  the  phy- 
sician of  Sultan  Jusup  ben  Ajub,  in  Cairo  (1201).  His 
enemies,  however,  accused  him  of  intending  to  poison  the 
sultan,  and  he  was  banished.  While  in  exile  he  lived  in  a 
cave,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  scientific  studies^ 
the  results  of  which  are  incorporated  in  many  of  his  works. 
Shortly  after  his  banishment,  it  was  found  that  he  had  been 
falsely  accused,  that  he  was  innocent.  The  Sultan  called 
him  back  and  reinstated  him  in  his  office,  which  he  held  to 
his  last  day.  Though  his  calling  and  his  official  duties  re- 
quired much  of  his  time,  he  nevertheless  worked  untiringly 
in  behalf  of  his  people  and  their  science.  But,  however 
great,  he  was  frequently  attacked,  principally  on  account  of 
his  philosophical  researches.  In  Montpelier,  his  book,  More^ 
was  condemned  by  the  rabbis ;  he  was  declared  a  heretic, 
and  punished  with  ban  and  excommunication.  This  caused 
considerable  disturbance,  and  eventually  resulted  in  a  split 
between  the  rabbis  of  France  and  Spain.  The  greatest  men, 
however,  were  on  the  side  of  Maimonides ;  for  example,  the 
well-known  grammarian  and  author  of  some  valuable  books, 
Rabbi  David  Kimchi.  The  ban  was  revoked  some  time 
after,  and  the  name  of  Maimonides  was  again  restored  to  its 
former  glory. 


MAIMONIDES.  73 


Maimonides  possessed  mental  powers  of  the  highest  de- 
gree, and  to  his  profundity  of  thought  there  were  added  and 
united  in  him  true  piety,  nobility  and  love  of  mankind, 
which  made  him  beloved  and  popular  with  all.  So  glorified 
and  exalted  was  he  that  it  was  a  proverb  common  in  those 
days  :  "  From  Moses  (the  son  of  Amram)  to  Moses  (the  son 
of  Maimon)  there  was  no  man  like  Moses."  He  died  in  the 
year  1205,  and  was  buried  in  Tiberias.  Jews  and  Gentiles 
bewailed  his  death,  and  when  the  sad  news  had  reached  Al- 
exandria, seven  days  later,  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  city 
were  deeply  affected  at  his  loss,  while  the  people  in  Jerusa- 
lem, whom  the  news  reached  later  still,  desisted  from  busi- 
ness and  abstained  from  food  as  tokens  of  their  mourning. 
On  his  tombstone  were  engraved  the  words  :  "  Here  rests  an 
excellent  man." 

The  thirteen  articles  of  faith  which  Maimonides  wrote  con- 
tain the  summary  of  the  Jewish  faith  from  his  standpoint. 
They  are : 

1.  God  is  the  creator  and  governor  of  all  beings. 

2.  God  is  one ;  his  unity  is  incomparable.  He  was,  is,  and 
will  be. 

3.  God  is  incorporeal,  and  no  form  can  be  compared  with 
him. 

4.  God  is  the  first  and  the  last. 

6.  God  alone  is  to  be  worshiped,  and  none  besides  him. 

6.  All  the  words  of  the  Propliets  are  truth. 

7.  The  prophecies  of  Moses  are  true.  He  is  the  first  of  all 
Prophets. 

8.  TheTorah  which  we  now  possess  is  the  same  given  to  us 
by  Moses. 

9.  TheTorah  will  never  be  exchanged  for  another. 

10.  God  knows  all  the  thoughts  and  deeds  of  man. 

11.  God  rewards  virtue  and  punishes  vice. 


74  NACHMANIDES — ^ABARBANEL. 

12.  A  Messiah  will  arise,  though  the  time  be  long  in 
coming. 

13.  God  will  once  revive  the  dead. 

These  thirteen  articles  of  faith  have  in  modern  times  un- 
dergone considerable  change.  Some  of  them  are  even  en- 
tirely discarded. 

xiii. — nachmanides  ( rabbi  moses  ben  nachman,  called 
ramban), 

Born  in  Gerona,  Catalonia,  in  1195,  was  likewise  one  of  the 
eminent  men  of  his  time.  In  early  childhood  he  already  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  Judaism  and  philosophy ;  but,  unlike 
Maimonides,  was  not  much  devoted  to  the  latter.  His  pref- 
erence was  for  the  mystic  doctrine,  for  which  reason  he  was 
called  "  Prince  of  Cabalah."  In  the  year  1263,  King  Jacob 
I.,  of  Aragon,  invited  him  to  a  public  discussion  with  the 
monk,  Paul  Christian.  Nachmanides  came,  and  in  a  most 
spirited,  clear  and  convincing  manner  he  defended  his  faith, 
and  triumphantly  refuted  every  argument  advanced  by  his 
opponent.  At  the  age  of  seventy  he  was  banished  from 
Aragon,  and  went  to  Jerusalem.  He  remained  in  Palestine 
until  1270,  when  he  died.  Of  his  works,  his  Commentary  on 
the  Pentateuch,  which  he  completed  at  an  advanced  age,  de- 
serves mention.  Besides  this,  he  wrote  several  poems,  which 
are  a  part  of  the  ancient  liturgy  for  New  Year's  Day,  also 
works  on  medicine  and  natural  science.  He  was  a  famous 
orator,  and  highly  esteemed  for  his  general  knowledge. 

XIV. — DON  ISAAC  ABARBANEL. 

Another  celebrated  Portuguese  Hebrew  scholar  was  Don 
Isaac  Abarbanel,  born  at  Lisbon  in  1437.  His  parents,  who  were 
very  wealthy,  traced  their  genealogy  back  to  David.  He  en- 
joyed the  advantage  of  a  careful  training,  and  thereby  soon 
gained  prominence  in  the  world  of  letters.  His  was  a  profound 


ABARBANEL. 


and  versatile  mind,  by  means  of  which  he  rose  to  the  exalted 
position  of  Privy-Counselor  to  Alphonso  V.,  King  of  Portugal. 
In  this  position  he  devoted  his  attention  to  politics,  com- 
merce and  financial  nianagement,  and  performed  his  tasks 
with  the  most  scrupulous  honesty.  When  King  Alphonso 
had  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  II.,  those  envious  of 
Abarbanel  accused  him  before  the  new  king,  who  readily  lent 
his  ear  to  the  calumniations,  and  pronounced  him  a  conspir- 
ator. Warned  in  time  of  the  danger  that  threatened  his 
very  life,  he  was  forced  to  flee  to  Castile,  leaving  behind  him 
wife,  child  and  property.  In  his  exile  he  returned  to  the 
pursuit  of  science  and  continued  his  Hebrew  studies,  which 
consisted  mainly  of  commentaries  on  different  books  of  the 
Bible.  In  Castile  he  was  in  the  service  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  during  eight  years.  Then  came,  quite  unexpectedly, 
the  famous  decree  of  banishment  against  the  Jews  of  Spain, 
at  the  instigation  of  Torquemada  (see  Chap,  vi.)  ;  and,  though 
the  royal  pair  were  willing  to  make  an  exception  in  his  case 
and  retain  him  in  their  service,  he  nevertheless  resigned  the 
office  voluntarily,  preferring  to  share  the  bitter  lot  of  his 
brethren.  He  went  to  Naples,  where,  in  1535,  twenty-seven 
years  after  his  death,  Benvenida,  his  daughter-in-law,  became 
the  governess  of  the  Grand  Du-chess  of  Tuscany.  In  his 
new  home  at  Naples  he  gained  the  favor  of  the  king,  Ferdi- 
nand, and  of  his  successor,  Alphonso  II.  When  King 
Charles  VIII.,  of  France,  attacked  Naples,  Abarbanel  fol- 
lowed his  prince,  Alphonso,  to  Messina.  After  the  death  of 
his  king  he  fled  to  Corfu ;  then  we  find  him  in  Apulia,  and 
again  in  Venice,  where  he  published  several  treatises.  In 
the  year  1508  death  overtook  the  great  man,  whose  life  had 
been  so  eventful,  and  who,  amid  the  splendor  and  pomp  of 
the  court,  remained  true  to  his  people  and  his  faith.  His 
body  was  conveyed  to  Padua  for  sepulture,  and  the  numerous 
dignitaries,  nobles  and  citizens  of  Venice,  who  followed  his 


76  RASHI. 

remains  to  the  grave,  manifested  their  esteem  and  love  for 
the  departed. 

XV. — RABBI  SOLOMON  BEN  ISAAC,  CALLED  RASHI. 

The  eminent  men  and  scholars  hitherto  enumerated,  in- 
clusive of  the  celebrated  poets,  Chasdai»  Ibn  Shaprut  in  the 
tenth  and  Charisi  and  Jedajah  Bedarshi  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  belong  to  the  Moorish-Spanish  school.  We  shall  now 
turn  to  the  French  school,  and  here  we  mention  as  the  first 
and  foremost  Rabbi  Solomon  Jizchaki,  called  Rashi  (from 
the  initials  of  his  full  name.)  He  was  born  in  Troyes, 
France,  in  1040,  and  is  the  best  and  most  favorably  known 
commentator  on  the  Bible  and  Talmud.  He  was  a  disciple 
of  Rabbenu  Gershom,  called  the  "  Light  of  the  Exile,"  who, 
in  a  synod  convened  by  him,  interdicted  polygamy  and  ab- 
rogated forced  divorce.  Though  extremely  poor  and  often 
in  absolute  want,  Rashi  nevertheless  made  himself  acquainted 
with  all  the  branches  of  literature  then  known.  Jewish  the- 
ology, as  well  as  Greek  and  Arabian  literature,  found  in  him 
their  stanch  votary.  His  comments  upon  the  Pentateuch 
are  popular,  terse,  and  therefore  easy  of  comprehension, 
while  his  explanations  to  the  Talmud  are  almost  indispensa- 
ble to  its  understanding.  With  all  his  vast  learning,  he  was 
so  very  modest  that  he  seemed  ignorant  in  his  own  eyes,  and 
ever  felt  it  necessary  to  increase  his  stock  of  knowledge. 
For  this  reason  he  went  abroad,  and  acquired  many  well- 
informed  and  scholarly  friends.  Traveling  in  the  Orient,  he 
once  met  a  monk.  For  some  time  the  two  conversed  and  ex- 
changed ideas  in  a  friendly  way.  But  the  monk  soon  began  to 
attack  Judaism,  which  led  the  two  men  to  dispute  and  quarrel ; 
they  entered  their  tavern  on  very  bad  terms  with  each  other. 
Suddenly  the  priest  was  taken  sick,  and  when  Rashi  had 
been  informed  of  the  fact,  he  went  to  his  antagonist's  bedside, 
nursed  him  with  fraternal  kindness,  and  gave  him  a  medi- 


RAsm.  77 

cine  which  soon  restored  his  health.  On  his  recovery,  the 
monk  wished  to  express  his  thanks  to  his  benefactor,  but 
Rashi  said :  "  You  owe  me  no  thanks.  Though  divided  in 
faith,  we  must  still  be  united  by  that  love  of  mankind  which 
Moses  enjoined  on  us.  Farewell  I  And  if  you  meet  a 
suffering  Jew,  help  him  as  I  have  helped  you."  After  sev- 
eral years  of  traveling  in  foreign  lands,  he  returned  home  to 
France,  and  came  to  Prague,  whfere  he  was  received  by  all  ' 
the  Jews  with  great  joy  and  reverence.  Duke  Wladislau, 
under  whom  the  Jews  lived,  who  hated  them  most  bit- 
terly and  who  embraced  every  opportunity  that  offered  to 
manifest  his  hatred,  hearing  of  the  sensation  and  delight 
which  that  strange  rabbi  had  caused  his  Jewish  subjects,  had 
him  arrested  as  a  spy.  The  members  of  the  congregation 
mourned  for  Rashi,  but  he,  strengthened  by  his  trust  in 
God  and  the  consciousness  of  his  innocence,  retained  his 
calmness  and  composure.  Wladislau  was  about  to  utter  a 
sentence  of  death  against  Rashi,  when  the  Bishop  of  Olmutz 
stepped  before  the  throne  of  the  duke  and  exclaimed  :  "  In 
the  name  of  God,  I  protect  and  defend  this  Jew.  Not  a  hair 
of  his  head  shall  be  hurt,  for  he  is  a  man  of  great  learning, 
of  vast  knowledge,  and  is  endowed  with  a  noble  and  gener- 
ous heart."  He  thereupon  related  how,  while  he  was  yet  a 
monk,  this  very  Jew  had  once  in  the  Orient  saved  his  life. 
The  duke,  surprised  and  pleased  at  this  revelation,  caused 
Rashi  to  be  released,  and  conferred  many  honors  and  dis- 
tinctions upon  him.  Rashi  seized  this  favorable  opportunity, 
this  change  of  feeling  for  him,  and,  prostrating  himself  be- 
fore the  duke,  he  implored  and  secured  protection  and  shel- 
ter for  the  Jews  in  Prague.  Here  he  married  Rebecca,  the 
daughter  of  the  officiating  rabbi,  Jochanan  ben  Eliezer. 

When  Rashi  was  about  to  return  to  his  home,  in  France, 
with  his  young  wife,  he  was  wounded  by  the  sword  of  tlie 
ducal  counselor,  Marzerod,  who,  during  the  absence  of  the 


78  RASHI. 


duke  and  the  archbishop,  sought  to  revenge  himself  upon 
the  Jews,  whom  he  hated,  by  killing  their  favorite.  Careful 
nursing,  unremitting  watchfulness  and  constant  care  on  the 
part  of  his  friends  restored  him  to  life  and  health.  His 
father-in-law,  however,  concealed  this  fact,  and  caused  the 
report  to  spread  that  his  son-in-law  had  succumbed  under 
the  blow,  which  had  proved  fatal,  and  while  his  empty  coffin 
was  deposited  in  the  grave,  Rashi  escaped.  His  life  was  a 
wonderful  one,  and  the  history  thereof  is  embellished  with 
many  legends.  Among  the  remarkable  features  of  his  life, 
which  can,  however,  be  described  only  in  the  merest  out- 
line, there  may  be  mentioned  his  conversation  with  Godfred 
of  Bouillion,  his  vision  during  a  sleepless  night,  and  his  in- 
vention of  the  cursory  writing.  On  his  journey  through 
Germany  he  stopped  a  long  time  in  Worms,  where  they  still 
show  the  chair  upon  which  he  sat,  teaching  the  word  of  God. 
He  died  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  Tamus,  1105,  some 
sixty-five  years  of  age,  in  his  native  place,  Troyes.  His 
name,  "  Chief  of  Commentators,"  is  mentioned  to  this  day 
with  great  respect  among  the  Israelites.  His  works,  which 
were  numerous,  exercised  a  vast  influence  over  Jewish  theol- 
ogy, and  formed  the  foundation  of  the  Tosephoth,  i.  e.,  ex- 
planatory remarks  added  to  the  Talmud.  The  principal 
works  of  Rashi  are  his  Commentary  on  the  Bible  and  the 
Babylonian  Talmud  (which  was  made  intelligible  and  useful 
only  by  that  commentary)  and  several  treatises,  Midrashim, 
etc.  His  works  and  opinions  were  very  praiseworthy.  His 
son-in-law,  and  especially  his  two  grandsons,  Rashbam  and 
Jacob  Tom  (often  mentioned  in  the  Tosephoth,  that  is,  addi- 
tion to  the  Talmud),  were  active  in  the  spirit  of  their  grand- 
father. 


ALFASI.  79 


XVI. — ISAAC  ALFASI,  OR,  RABBI  ISAAC  BEN  JOSEPH  ALPHES, 

Lived  in  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century.  He  was 
born  in  a  small  village  in  the  kingdom  of  Fez,  about  the 
year  1013,  whence  he  went  to  Spain  and  settled  in  Seville. 
He  aroused  the  jealousy  of  Rabbi  Isaac  ben  Baruch,  who 
was  chief  of  the  Academy  of  Seville.  In  order  to  escape  the 
hostility  and  envy  of  that  man,  he  left  that  city  in  disgust 
and  went  to  Cordova.  But  here,  too,  there  was  no  rest  for 
him,  and,  finding  that  he  had  to  suffer  much  from  animosity, 
he  emigrated  into  Lucena,  where  he  remained  until  he 
reached  his  ninetieth  year,  when  he  died.  In  Lucena 
peace  smiled  upon  him,  and  he  had  the  opportunity  of  fol- 
lowing freely  his  inclinations,  which  were  bent  toward  study 
and  the  practice  of  charity.  His  great  work,  called  "  Al- 
phasi,"  which  is  an  extract  from  and  commentary  upon  the 
Talmud,  received  the  undivided  applause  of  his  contempora- 
ries, and  is  to  this  day  regarded  with  the  greatest  respect. 
Of  his  magnanimity  and  nobility  of  sentiment,  the  following 
may  be  cited  by  way  of  illustration  : 

Rabbi  Isaac  ben  Baruch,  mentioned  above,  whose  hostility 
had  driven  Rabbi  Alphes  from  SeviUe,  had  a  son  named  Ba- 
ruch, whom  he  intended  to  bring  up  as  a  truly  religious  and 
well-educated  man ;  but  when  young  Baruch  had  attained  his 
seventeenth  year,  his  father  fell  sick,  and  the  hour  of  his 
death  was  fast  approaching.  On  his  deathbed  he  gave  his 
eon  a  letter  for  Rabbi  Alphes,  with  the  order  to  deliver  it  in 
person.  The  father  died,  and  four  weeks  later  young  Ba- 
ruch came  and  delivered  the  letter  to  Rabbi  Alphes.  In 
that  letter  the  former  bitter  enemy  said  in  substance :  '*  I 
write  this  on  my  deathbed.  I  sincerely  ask  your  pardon, 
before  I  shall  be  called  to  my  last  account.  I  repent  of  any 
wrong  committed  against  you,  and  in  token  of  my  repent- 
ance I  send  you  my  son,  requesting  you  to  educate  and  to 


Of  THB 

ViriVBRSITT] 


80  GERMAN  CELEBRITIES. 

instruct  him  in  your  spirit,  that  some  day  he  may  become 
like  you.  Will  you  grant  the  request  of  a  dying  man?" 
Alphes  was  touched,  and,  embracing  the  youth,  said :  "  You 
are  not  entirely  fatherless ;  from  this  day  I  consider  you  as 
my  son."  Rabbi  Alphes  educated  his  charge  with  great 
care  and  love;  and,  thanks  to  his  generous  foster-father, 
Baruch  became  an  eminent  man. 

XVII. — SEVERAL  CELEBRITIES  IN  GERMANY. 

Rabbi  Amnon,  of  Mayence,  lived  in  the  thirteenth  century 
in  the  city  from  which  he  took  his  surname.  He  was  a 
man  universally  respected,  both  for  his  piety  and  learning. 
The  elector  of  the  Palatinate  of  Mayence  was  his  friend,  and 
conferred  upon  him  many  distinctions.  But  the  courtiers 
could  not  brook  that  a  Jew  should  thus  enjoy  princely  favor, 
and  they,  therefore,  intrigued  against  the  pious  man  by  per- 
suading the  prince  to  convert  the  rabbi  to  Christianity. 
Their  plot  succeeded.  The  prince  used  all  his  eloquence, 
but  in  vain.  He  then  requested  him  to  appear  in  his  closet, 
where  he  spoke  to  him  thus  :  "  You  know,  Amnon,  how  I  love 
you ;  do  me  the  favor  to  become  a  Christian."  But  Amnon 
replied  :  "  I  duly  appreciate  thy  consideration,  my  lord  and 
master,  and  I  am  ready  to  shed  every  drop  of  my  blood  for 
you,  but  I  can  not  under  any  circumstances  become  guilty  of 
hypocrisy  and  perjury.  If  I  change  my  God  to-day,  might  I 
not  to-morrow  become  faithless  to  my  sovereign?  "  When  he 
was  still  further  and  closer  pressed,  he  begged  for  time  to  re- 
flect. Three  days  were  granted  him,  but  he  had  hardly  left 
the  palace  before  he  bitterly  reproached  himself  for  his  wa- 
vering— for  having  entertained  for  a  single  moment,  however 
remotely,  the  idea  of  becoming  faithless  to  his  God.  Discon- 
solate because  of  that  hasty  utterance,  which  to  him  ap- 
peared equivalent  to  a  promise,  he  wept  and  mourned,  and 
fasted  for  three  days.    The  respite  granted  him  had  elapsed, 


RABBI  AMNON.  81 


but  he  remained  at  home.  He  was  summoned,  but  he  dis- 
obeyed the  summons  three  times.  At  last  the  prince  had  re- 
course to  violence,  and  had  him  brought  by  force.  **  Why 
did  you  not  keep  your  word,  Amnon?  "  the  prince  harshly 
asked  the  poor  man,  who  by  the  self-imposed  affliction  had 
grown  so  weak  as  to  present  a  most  pitiable  aspect;  "are 
you  willing  to  become  a  Christian?  "  "  No,"  calmly  replied 
Amnon ;  "  and  I  have  not  come  because  I  could  not  comply 
with  your  wish.  But  I  am  ready  to  suffer,  nay,  I  am  wilUng 
to  pronounce  upon  myself,  if  you  will  permit  it,  this  sen- 
tence :  The  tongue  that  has  indulged  in  hypocrisy — that  has 
lied — may  be  cut  out."  "  No,"  replied  the  prince,  "  the 
feet  that  refused  to  come  hither  shall  be  cut  off  and  your 
whole  body  shall  be  chastised."  The  sentence  was  car- 
ried into  effect;  the  order  was  promptly  executed.  The 
mutilated  martyr,  who  had  never  uttered  a  sound  of  com- 
plaint, was  at  last  carried  to  his  house,  and  even  there  he  en- 
deavored to  console  his  sorrowing  family  by  persuading 
them  that  he  fully  deserved  the  severe  visitation.  The  New 
Year's  Day,  Rosh  Hashana,  being  celebrated  a  few  days 
later,  he  ordered  himself  and  his  severed  limbs  to  be  carried 
to  the  synagogue,  and  the  litter  was  placed  near  the  reader's 
desk.  Before  this  official  wanted  to  pronounce  the  "thrice 
holy  "  in  the  Kedusha,  Rabbi  Amnon  called  out :  "  Hold, 
let  me  sanctify  the  name  of  God !"  and  with  an  affecting  voice 
he  exclaimed :  "  Let  us  glorify  our  Lord,  for  thou,  0  Eternal, 
art  our  king."  After  having  spoken  these  words  he  began  to 
recite  a  prayer  which  he  had  composed,  beginning  with  the 
words,  Plpin  njnJI  (Let  us  describe  the  sublimity  of  the  Day 
of  Judgment.)  The  reader  then  continued,  and  when  he  had 
uttered  the  words,  "  He  is  our  God,  there  is  no  other,"  Am- 
non interrupted  him  once  more  and  exclaimed  in  a  loud 
voice  :  HDN  (that  is  the  truth),  and  expired.  His  teacher,  Ka- 
lonymos,  who  had  remembered  every  word  of  that  impressive 


82  GERMAN  CELEBRITIES. 


prayer  of  the  martyr,  sent  copies  of  the  same  to  every  Jewish 
congregation,  and  by  them  it  was  incorporated  into  the  Hturgy 
for  the  New  Year's  Day  and  the  Day  of  Atonement,  and  to 
this  day  is  recited  on  those  days  after  the  Kedusha  in  the 
Mussaph  prayer. 

Among  the  German  rabbins  we  will  also  mention  Rabbi 
Meir  ben  Baruch,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Maharam  of 
Rothenberg,  who,  while  seeking  safety  by  flight,  was  caught 
by  the  Bishop  of  Basel  and  thrown  into  a  dungeon.  From 
this  imprisonment  his  faithful  and  celebrated  disciple,  Asher 
ben  Jechiel,  also  called  Rosh,  sought  to  liberate  him  ;  but  the 
ransom  demanded  was  too  great,  and  after  Asher  ben  Jechiel 
had  spent  his  whole  fortune  in  fruitless  endeavors  to  secure 
the  freedom  of  his  beloved  master,  Maharam  died,  in  1293. 
The  son  of  Rosh,  Jacob,  wrote  the  Turim,  a  casuistical  work 
in  four  books  or  volumes,  the  basis  of  the  Shulchan  Aruch, 
the  author  of  which  was  Rabbi  Joseph  Karo,  of  Zephath 
(1488-1575).  The  Shulchan  Aruch  is  divided  into  four 
parts,  viz. :  Eben  Haezer,  treating  of  marital  laws ;  Choshen 
Mishpat,  of  legal  cases ;  Yoreh  Deah,  of  ritual  laws ;  and 
Orach  Chayim,  of  Sabbath,  festival  and  other  ceremonies. 
Rabbi  Moses  Iserles,  of  Cracow,  also  called  Rema,  from  the 
initials  of  his  name,  enlarged  the  Schulchan  Aruch  by  copi- 
ous notes ;  the  same  did  Joseph  Albo,  who  acquired  consid- 
erable fame  and  celebrity  as  a  religio-philosophic  writer, 
through  his  work,  Ik  Karim,  i.  e..  principles  of  faith. 

We  must  not  forget  the  great  poet,  Emanuel  ben  Solomon, 
who  lived  at  Rome  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  who  wrote 
some  love  songs,  rare  products  of  Jewish  literature,  which 
were  much  admired  by  the  Gentiles.  He  also  wrote  an  ex- 
cellent commentary  on  the  books  of  Job,  Psalms,  Proverbs 
and  others,  for  which  he  was  greatly  applauded.  Another 
Italian  scholar  of  renown  was  Elias  Levita,  of  Padua,  the 


CABALAH.  88 


author  of  an  excellent  Hebrew  grammar,  which  is  admired 
to  this  day. 

XVni. — MYSTICISM,  CABALAH. 

The  study  of  the  Tora  and  the  Talmud  was  no  more  the 
exclusive  occupation  of  scholars  and  laymen.  In  the 
minds  of  most  of  them  superstition  had  taken  root,  and  this 
led  them  to  occupy  their  time  \^  ith  a  sort  of  mystic  science, 
which,  owing  to  its  being  traditional,  was  called  Cabalah.  The 
object  of  this  study  was  the  interpretation  of  visions,  dreams, 
good  and  evil  spirits,  migration  of  the  soul  (Gilgul),  etc. 
The  oldest  cabalistic  work,  which  was  already  known  by  the 
Gaonim,  is  the  book  "  Yezirah,"  creation.  In  the  thirteenth 
century  Moses  de  Leon  issued  the  Sohar,  which  contains  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  this  mysticism.  Many  who  occu- 
pied their  time  with  the  study  of  Cabalah  professed  to  be 
performers  of  miracles ;  thus,  Rabbi  Isaac  Luria,  whose  dis- 
ciples spread  the  belief  that  by  means  of  this  science  won- 
ders could  be  performed.  But  the  Cabalah  has  also  many 
opponents,  such  as  Elias  del  Medigo  and  Rabbi  Jehudah 
Modena ;  yet  for  a  time  the  Cabalists  prospered  and  found 
credence  in  their  most  absurd  and  extravagant  claims.  They 
were  even  regarded  as  Messiahs,  though  only  for  a  short 
time.  Soon,  however,  the  more  sober  and  less  infatuated 
discovered  how  those  cabalists  strayed  from  the  right 
way. 

Sabbathai  Zevi,  one  of  the  prominent  representatives  of 
that  class  of  deceived  deceivers,  was  born  at  Smyrna  in  1625. 
Of  all  the  Cabalists,  pseudo-Messiahs  and  deluded  pretend- 
ers, none  was  more  contemptible  or  more  cunning,  and  none 
more  remarkable  than  Sabbathai  Zevi.  His  father  dealt  in 
poultry,  and  the  young  and  highly  gifted  son  directed  his  at- 
tention to  the  study  of  that  mysterious  science,  the  Cabalah, 
and  publicly  discussed  its  advantage  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 


84  SABBATHAI  ZEVI. 


Though  at  first  he  was  laughed  at,  he  soon  succeeded  in 
gaining  a  large  number  of  followers,  who  respected  and  re- 
vered him  as  a  saint.  His  fame  spread  far  and  wide,  and 
very  soon  he  was  recognized,  not  only  in  all  Turkey,  but  even 
in  foreign  parts,  as  the  divinely-sent  Messiah.  From  Hol- 
land, Poland  and  Italy,  his  admirers  came  to  pay  him  hom- 
age, to  make  him  costly  presents  and  to  pray  for  his  life. 
During  his  lectures,  his  hearers  and  disciples  sat  at  his  feet, 
wrapped  in  Talith  and  Tephilim,  fasted,  prayed,  and  prac- 
ticed abstinence.  Some  enlightened  men,  faithful  believers 
in  God,  denounced  him  as  a  false  Messiah  and  as  a  vile  de- 
ceiver, but  the  masses,  naturally  credulous,  and  often 
"  making  the  wish  father  to  the  thought,"  clung  to  him,  and 
trusted  his  solemn  promises  and  deceptive  hopes,  and 
awaited  patiently  yet  confidently  to  be  led  back  to  Palestine 
by  him,  and  to  see  him,  as  a  scion  of  the  house  of  David, 
occupy  the  regal  throne  of  his  illustrious  ancestor.  Like 
every  other  Messiah  before  him,  he  appointed  a  forerunner, 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Nathan  Benjamin,  who  was  to  an- 
nounce the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  Nathan  Benjamin,  the 
representative  of  Elijah  the  Prophet,  sent  letters  to  all  coun- 
tries, the  purport  of  which  was  that  the  Messiah  had  come, 
and  would  soon  assume  the  diadem ;  that  he  would  then  dis- 
appear for  a  time,  and  come  back  again  accompanied  by 
Moses,  and  thereupon  the  restoration  to  Palestine  would  be 
set  on  foot.  He  would  enter  the  holy  city  on  a  lion,  which 
was  to  come  down  from  heaven,  and  whose  tongue  was  to  be 
like  a  seven-headed  serpent.  By  the  breath  of  his  mouth  he 
would  kill  thousands  of  his  enemies,  and  in  Jerusalem  he 
would  descend  from  heaven,  offer  sacrifices,  restore  the  dead 
to  life,  and  perform  other  miracles  too  numerous  to  mention. 
While  in  Jerusalem,  Zevi  was  opposed  by  some  and  upheld 
by  others  in  his  claims ;  but  pending  negotiations  he  went  to 
Egypt  to  espouse  a  bride,  who,  as  he  averred,  had  been  sent 


SPINOZA — ACOSTA.  85 


from  heaven.  He  returned  with  the  daughter  of  a  Polish 
rabbi,  who  had  been  reared  by  Gentiles.  This  was  Zevi's 
third  marriage,  but  it  was  a  farce,  as  had  been  his  marriages 
previously  contracted.  His  opponents  resisted  a  public  cere- 
mony, and  some  rabbis  pronounced  the  sentence  of  death  upon 
him,  declaring  him  and  his  accomplice  to  be  impostors,  none 
of  whom  had  any  qualifications  for  the  position  which  they 
claimed.  Zevi  escaped  and  went  to  Smyrna,  where,  after 
living  four  years  in  seclusion,  he  arose  again,  and  found  the 
magic  of  his  name  unimpaired.  But  when  he  arrived  at  Con- 
stantinople Sultan  Mohammed  IV.,  who  heard  of  his  agitations, 
denounced  him  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace  and  caused  his 
arrest.  But  even  during  his  imprisonment  for  two  years  his 
followers  still  paid  him  homage.  A  Polish  scholar,  Nehe- 
miah  by  name,  visited  Zevi,  recognized  the  vile  impostor, 
and,  having  established  his  identity  beyond  any  doubt,  he 
went  to  Adrianople,  where  he  informed  the  authorities  of  the 
true  character  of  the  pretender.  The  courts  thereupon  pro- 
posed to  test  his  Messiahship,  and  offered  him  the  choice 
between  allowing  himself  to  be  pierced  through  and  embrac- 
ing Islamism.  Zevi  chose  the  latter,  but  still  persisted  in 
acting  the  part  of  the  redeemer.  Ten  years  after  this  change 
of  his  religion,  he  was  carried,  at  the  instigation  of  his  ene- 
mies, into  Bosnia,  where  he  died,  in  Belgrade,  in  1673. 

Other  similar  cabalistic  parties  arose  in  later  times. 

Israel  Baal  Shem  Tobh  (man  of  good  name  or  repute), 
also  known  as  Besht,  from  the  initials  of  his  name,  estab- 
lished the  sect  of  Beshts,  or  Chassidim ;  and  Joseph  Frank, 
the  Frankists. 

XIX. — BENEDICT  SPINOZA — GABRIEL  OR  URIEL  ACOSTA. 

Baruch  or  Benedict  Spinoza,  born  at  Amsterdam  in  the 
year  1632,  of  highly  respected  Portuguese  parents,  was  an 
eminent  Jewish  theologiai^,  who  reached  the  highest  point  of 


86  SPINOZA. 


philosophical  scholarship  in  Israel.  Indeed,  philosophy  be- 
came the  element  of  his  life ;  to  it  he  devoted  all  his  time, 
and  the  study  thereof  so  engrossed  his  mind  that  he  neg- 
lected the  religion  in  which  he  had  been  born,  and  became 
estranged  from  the  synagogue.  The  rabbis  demanded  of 
him  a  strict  observance  of  the  religious  ceremonies,  but 
this  he  positively  refused.  The  consequence  was  that  he 
was  excommunicated.  Spinoza  heeded  it  not,  but  perse- 
vered in  his  course,  which  exposed  him  to  numerous  perse- 
cutions. One  man,  a  fanatic,  deeming  the  death  of  such  a 
man  as  Spinoza  beneficial  to  Judaism,  waylaid  him,  with  the 
intention  of  assassinating  him ;  but  Spinoza  warded  off  the 
blow  and  saved  his  life,  only  his  coat  being  pierced  by  the 
dagger.  That  coat  he  sacredly  preserved  as  a  memorial  of 
the  event.  But,  although  Spinoza  had  formally  broken  with 
all  ceremonialism,  he  never  renounced  his  faith,  although 
tempting  offers  were  made  to  him  to  embrace  Cathohcism. 
He  suffered  want  and  privation,  and  in  his  greatest  poverty 
he  became  a  glass-cutter,  by  which  occupation  he  earned  a 
scanty  livelihood.  He  never  accepted  any  presents,  and 
when  they  were  offered  him  he  refused  them,  gently  but 
firmly. 

In  conversation  he  was  always  calm,  friendly,  affable  and 
patient.  When  his  day's  work — scientific  researches  and  the 
arduous  labor  of  writing  and  the  preparation  of  physical  in- 
struments, microscopes  and  telescopes  —  was  done,  he  de- 
lighted in  light  diversions,  and  found  even  the  war  among 
spiders  sufficiently  interesting.  Of  his  great  spiritual  pow- 
ers he  has  left  abundant  proofs,  and  his  philosophical  system 
is  even  to  this  day  an  object  of  earnest  study  and  of  pro- 
found admiration.  Charles  Louis,  the  Elector  of  the  Palati- 
nate, offered  him  the  chair  of  Philosophy  at  the  University 
in  Heidelberg.  Spinoza,  however,  declined  the  proffered 
honor,  because  he  could  not  reconcile  his  liberal  views  and 


MANASSE  BEN  ISRAEL.  87 


privilege  of  liberty  of  teaching  with  the  reigning  religion, 
which,  according  to  the  policy  of  the  elector,  he  was  not  per- 
mitted to  interfere  with.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  only 
forty-five  years  of  age,  leaving  behind  him  a  spotless  name, 
an  unsullied  character,  and  a  well-merited  reputation  for 
spiritual  greatness,  which  even  his  adversaries  were  forced 
to  acknowledge  and  to  praise.  To  modern  times  it  was  re- 
served to  fully  understand  him,  and  his  name  is  now  uttered 
with  reverence,  while  his  fame  and  memory  have  recently 
been  perpetuated  by  a  monument  that  was  erected  in  1877. 
As  in  olden  times,  Elisha  ben  Abuya  had  gone  astray  in 
consequence  of  his  indulgence  in  hypothetical  speculations, 
thereby  becoming  first  a  skeptic  and  then  a  renegade  to  the 
pure  Israelitish  doctrine,  so  it  was  with  Gabriel  (Uriel) 
Acosta,  a  learned  Portuguese.  Accompanied  by  his  mother 
and  brother,  he  went  to  Amsterdam,  where  he  returned  to 
the  religion  of  his  Jewish  ancestors.  But  Judaism,  being 
then  more  Rabbinism  than  the  pure  Mosaism  h(3  had  ex- 
pected to  find,  caused  grave  doubts  to  rise  within  him.  He 
consequently  attacked  and  violated  the  Mosaic  faith,  for 
which  he  was  excommunicated  and  bitterly  persecuted  by 
the  rabbis  of  Holland.  In  his  misery  he  requested  his 
worst  enemy  to  shoot  him,  and,  when  the  bullet  failed,  he 
committed  suicide.  His  works,  too,  betoken  great  knowledge 
and  mental  acumen,  but  because  of  his  speculative  and 
skeptical  propensities  he  did  not  properly  utilize  his  mental 
faculties.  ^  ' 

XX. — MANASSE  BEN  ISRAEL. 

Tn  the  night  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Holland  had  become  tlio 
asylum  and  the  friendly  home  of  the  Jews.  And  England 
was  to  imitate  Holland's  noble  example  in  the  middle  of  the 
fl  vcnteenth  century.  Manasse  ben  Israel,  a  prominent 
scliolar  and  preacher  at  Amsterdam  (born  in  1609,  at  Lis 


MANASSE  BEN  ISRAEL. 


bon),  addressed  a  petition  to  Cromwell,  then  Dictator  of 
England,  to  grant  the  Jews  permission  to  settle  in  that 
island.  Cromwell  submitted  the  petition  to  Parliament, 
with  the  strong  recommendation  to  grant  it,  but  the  British 
clergy,  spreading  hostile  letters,  articles  and  pamphlets,  pre- 
vented the  prompt  passage  of  the  bill.  Then  Manasse  in- 
dited a  reply  to  those  fanatical  heads  of  the  Church,  and 
in  that  defensive  article,  entitled  "  Salvation  of  the  Jews,"  he 
succeeded,  by  a  thorough  refutation  of  those  malicious 
charges,  in  showing  the  unjustness  of  the  suspicion,  and,  by 
thoroughly  and  irrefutably  exposing  the  prejudices,  in  gain- 
ing his  point,  and  securing  for  his  brethren  the  right  of  settle- 
ment in  England.  Great  Britain,  which  had  been  for  300  years 
inaccessible  to  the  Jews,  now  opened  her  gates,  and  many 
took  up  their  habitation  there  and  soon  gained  the  love  and 
respect  of  their  new  fellow-citizens.  Manasse  ben  Israel  was 
the  author  of  numerous  theological,  philosophical  and  other 
writings,  which  were  highly  appreciated,  even  among  Chris- 
tians, of  whom  some  celebrities,  as,  for  instance,  Hugo  Grotius, 
were  his  friends.  Manasse  was  a  poor  man,  and  Cromwell 
granted  him  a  pension  for  life  of  100  pounds  annually. 

Returning  to  Holland  from  England,  he  died,  in  1657, 
deeply  mourned  by  his  brethren  in  the  faith,  as  well  as  by 
his  contemporaries. 


Pai^t    III. 
MODERN  TIMES. 


I. — THE  EMANCIPATION  OF  THE  JEWS  IN  PRANCE. 

The  French  Revolution  in  1789  marked  a  general  improve- 
ment in  the  condition  of  the  Israelites.  The  scales  fell  from 
the  eyes  of  the  mighty  rulers,  they  became  aware  of  their  in- 
justice, and  in  most  countries  they  began  to  emancipate  their 
Jewish  subjects,  i.  e.,  to  place  them  on  equal  terms  with  those 
of  other  creeds  and  doctrines.  France  led  her  sister  States 
in  this  work  of  liberation,  and  the  oppressed  and  down- 
trodden Israelites  began  to  feel  the  dawning  of  a  brighter 
era  for  them  in  that  country.  In  the  year  1791  the  Jews 
were  granted  the  same  rights  and  privileges  which  the  other 
inhabitants  and  citizens  of  France  enjoyed. 

When  Napoleon  ascended  the  throne,  and  several  com- 
plaints were  made  to  him  against  the  Alsatian  Jews,  he  as- 
sembled a  convention,  consisting  of  100  of  the  most  promi- 
nent Jews  (1806).  In  this  meeting  they  were  afforded  the 
opportunity  to  refute  the  charges  brought  against  them,  and 
to  remove  all  causes  for  complaints.  The  object  was  gained, 
and  those  100  representative  men,  forming  the  deputation, 
led  and  headed  by  the  celebrated  Abraham  Furtado,  of  Bor- 
deaux, succeeded  in  triumphantly  clearing  themselves  and 


90  EMANCIPATION  IN  PRANCE. 

their  brethren.  Twelve  grave  questions  were  asked,  among 
them  their  opinion  of  the  authority  of  the  State,  intermar- 
riage between  Jews  and  Gentiles,  etc.  The  answers  were 
highly  satisfactory  to  the  Emperor,  who  desired  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Synhedrin,  consisting,  like  the  old  one,  of 
seventy-one  members.  This  body  of  men  was  to  decide  in 
matters  religious  and  social,  and  their  decisions  were  to  find 
public  recognition.  This  was  done,  causing  joy  and  gratifi 
cation  to  the  Israelites.  But  though  the  decree  of  emanci- 
pation had  gone  forth  and  had  been  incorporated  in  the 
statute-book,  it  was  only  in  1830,  during  the  July  Revolution, 
that  the  principle  of  equality  was  recognized  in  all  circles  of 
the  French  populace,  and  that  the  Jewish  consistory  was  es- 
tablished and  the  rabbinical  school  at  Metz  subventioned  by 
the  State.  During  the  debates  on  a  new  constitution,  the 
distinction  previously  existing  between  Jews  and  Christians 
was  done  away  with,  and  the  resolution  carried  directing 
that  the  salaries  of  Jewish  rabbis,  as  well  as  those  of  Chris- 
tian clergymen,  should  be  paid  out  of  the  royal  treasury. 
Israelites  attained  to  honor  and  distinction;  they  filled 
offices  of  trust,  and  proved  themselves  eminently  worthy  of 
the  confidence  reposed  in  them.  In  that  year,  1830,  there 
were  chosen  from  among  the  Israelites  a  lieutenant-general, 
army  and  navy  officers,  public  physicians,  professors  of  uni- 
versities, lawyers,  notaries,  etc.  And  this  happy  turn  in 
their  external  affairs  neither  estrangeil  them  from  their  faith 
nor  prompted  them  to  become  callous  and  indifferent  to  the 
sad  condition  of  their  brethren  elsewhere.  It  rather  incited 
them  to  use  their  power  and  influence  for  the  abolition  of  any 
oppressive  law  affecting  them.  In  1840  there  was  living  in 
Damascus  a  monk  of  the  Capuchin  Order,  who  for  two  years 
had  studied  medicine.  One  day  the  monk  was  found  dead, 
evidently  the  victim  of  foul  play.  It  was  asserted  that  when 
last  alive  he  had  been  seen  in  the  Jews'  quarter.    Suspicion 


IN  HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM.  91 

at  once  rested  upon  the  Jews,  who  were  promptly  charged 
with  the  murderous  deed.  Excitement  ran  high.  The  mob 
became  furious.  The  most  prominent  Jews  of  Damascus 
were  tortured,  or  cast  into  dungeons.  All  Europe  was  filled 
with  consternation.  In  this  critical  time  the  French  and 
English  Jews  resolved  to  send  a  deputation  to  Damascus,  to 
take  proper  measures  to  quell  the  disturbance  and  to  shield 
and  defend  their  unfortunate  brethren,  Two  celebrated 
men,  Isaac  Adolphe  Cremieux  (who  died  February  10, 
1880),  of  Paris,  and  Moses  Montefiore,  of  London,  repaired  to 
the  scene  of  trouble,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  matter 
before  a  competent  tribunal.  They  obtained  access  to  the 
Sultan,  before  whom  they  pleaded  the  case  of  their  incarcer- 
ated brethren,  and  secured  not  only  their  liberation  but  a 
public  declaration  of  their  innocence.  There  are  about  48,- 
000  Jews  in  France. 

II. — THE  JEWS  IN  HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM. 

From  France  the  emancipation  of  the  Jews  spread  and 
took  root  in  Holland  and  Belgium.  On  the  12th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1798,  a  declaration  for  the  full  grant  of  liberty  to  the 
Jews  was  promulgated  in  Holland ;  and  from  that  day  they 
have  been  citizens  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word.  Holland 
has  now  about  75,000  Jews,  partly  of  German  and  partly  of 
Portuguese  extraction.  In  Amsterdam  alone  there  are  about 
25,000. 

In  Belgium,  which  became  independent  of  Holland  in 
1831,  the  Jews  were  granted  full  enjoyment  of  all  civil  rights. 
Their  position  has  remained  favorable.  They  are  distin- 
guished in  the  army,  among  the  men  of  science,  and  in  com- 
merce.    Belgium  has  a  Jewish  population  of  about  2,000. 


92  THE  JEWS  IN  GERMANY. 


III. — THE  JEWS  IN  GERMANY. 

Germany  followed  the  example  of  her  sister  States,  and 
became  tolerant  toward  the  Jews.  As  early  as  1781,  Profes- 
sor Dohm,  an  author  of  great  renown,  advocated  the  cause  of 
the  Israelites,  and  warmly  and  forcibly  defended  their  rights 
as  men  and  as  citizens.  But  his  earnest  efforts,  as  well  as 
those  of  others,  such  as  Lessing,  Krug  and  others,  did  not 
avail  much.  The  Jews  continued  in  their  subordinate  posi- 
tions, and  even  the  disgraceful  personal  toll  was  kept  intact. 
Not  until  the  Kingdom  of  Westphalia  was  established  by 
Napoleon  I.  did  their  lot  become  a  more  favorable  one. 
First  in  Westphalia,  then  in  Baden,  Hamburg,  Bremen,  Lu- 
beck,  Mecklenburg  and  Prussia.  But  even  then  the  old  preju- 
dices and  persecutions  did  not  entirely  cease,  and  it  fre- 
quently seemed  to  them  as  though  the  specters  of  the 
Middle  Ages  had  risen  from  their  tombs.  In  Frankfort, 
Wurzburg  and  in  other  cities  it  was  a  quite  frequent  oc- 
currence that  the  Jews  were  pursued  by  the  mob,  shouting : 
"  Hep  !  Hep  !  "  (the  initials  of  "  Hierosolyma  est  perdita," 
i.  e.,  Jerusalem  is  lost.)  Often,  too,  they  were  threatened 
with  banishment,  or  scorned  and  maligned  with  expressions, 
or  in  pamphlets,  breathing  the  bitterest  hatred.  In  short, 
their  position  was  by  no  means  an  enviable  one.  To  Gabriel 
Rieser,  of  Hamburg  (1806-1863),  the  peerless  champion  and 
bold  defender  of  the  Jewish  faith  and  name,  it  was  reserved 
to  secure  the  emancipation  of  his  brethren.  His  inspired 
and  zealous  work  and  his  earnest  plea  for  the  recognition  of 
their  rights  as  human  beings,  was  at  last  successful,  after 
many  futile  attempts  made  by  others. 

Frederick  the  Great  and,  after  him,  Frederick  William  IL, 
were  two  monarchs  filled  with  the  earnest  desire  to  politically 
improve  the  condition  of  their  Jewish  subjects;  but  the 
various  troubles  with  other  countries  claimed  their  attention. 


MOSES  MENDELSSOHN.  93 


and  the  question  of  the  emancipation  of  the  Jews  remained 
in  abeyance.  But  however  well  disposed  Frederick  the 
Great  and  his  successors  were,  and  however  zealously  the 
immortal  Gabriel  Rieser  fought  for  the  rights  of  his  breth- 
ren, the  epoch  of  Israel's  liberty  was  due  to  and  prepared  by 
the  glorious  exertions  of  another  great  man,  of  whom  we 
shall  speak  in  the  succeeding  chapter.  He  it  was  who  rose 
like  a  sun  of  salvation,  with  healing  in  his  wings,  over  Ger- 
many's darkening  horizon,  who  paved  the  way  for  freedom, 
for  toleration  and  humanity,  not  only  in  Germany,  but  in 
other  countries  as  well.  This  man,  justly  revered  by  the  Is- 
raelites of  modern  times,  occupying  a  prominent  niche  in 
the  Temple  of  fame, — this  man,  who  has  secured  for  himself  a 
name  in  the  literature  of  Germany,  and  who  has  left  behind 
him  an  imperishable  monument,  was  Moses  Mendelssohn. 

rV. — MOSES  MENDELSSOHN, 

The  son  of  poor  parents,  was  born  at  Dessau,  September  6, 
1729.  His  first  instruction  he  received  from  Rabbi  David 
Frankl,  in  Dessau.  At  the  age  of  ten  the  boy  had  acquired 
a  respectable  knowledge  of  Jewish  lore.  With  great  diligence 
he  next  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  philosophical 
works  of  Maimonides.  In  his  anxiety  to  learn,  and  eager- 
ness for  mental  progress,  he  worked  so  untiringly  that  his 
health  became  impaired  and  his  body  deformed.  Rabbi 
David  Frankl  subsequently  moved  from  Dessau  to  Berlin, 
and  thither  young  Mendelssohn  followed  him.  Fighting  the 
wolf  of  hunger  that  often  approached  the  young  student, 
suffering  want  and  privation  otherwise,  he  found  in  Rabbi 
David  Frankl  not  only  a  teacher,  but  a  warm-hearted  friend. 
Through  the  influence  of  this  man  Moses  obtained  free 
board  (receiving  his  meals  in  different  families  on  different 
days)  and  lodging;  and,  by  copying  the  works  of  his 
teacher,  the  poor,  struggling  student  earned  a  little  money, 


94  MOSES  MENDELSSOHN. 


wherewith  he  supplied  all  his  wants.  He  next  turned  his 
attention  to  the  study  of  the  German  language,  which  was 
then  not  universally  known  by  the  Jews,  who  spoke  the  cor- 
rupt mixture  of  German  and  Hebrew,  and  soon  thoroughly 
mastered  it.  He  read  the  German  classics  with  great 
avidity,  studied  mathematics  with  Israel  Samosz,  a  man 
whom  he  had  befriended,  and  the  old  classics  with  the  as- 
sistance of  the  physician,  Mr.  Kish.  The  English  and 
French  languages  he  also  added  to  his  curriculum.  Soon 
his  financial  condition  improved.  The  Jewish  physician, 
Gomperz,  recommended  him  to  Mr.  Bernhard,  a  manufac- 
turer of  silk,  who  employed  him  as  private  tutor  to  his 
children  (1750).  Through  Dr.  Gomperz  he  also  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Gotthold  Ephraim  Lessing,  the  celebrated 
German  author,  who  was  fond  of  playing  chess,  and  to 
whom  Moses  was  recommended  as  a  good  player.  Their 
acquaintance  soon  ripened  into  the  most  intimate  and  en- 
during friendship,  Lessing  and  Mendelssohn,  as  they  were 
devoted  to  each  other  during  their  entire  lives,  live  to  this 
day  united  in  the  memory  of  posterity,  and  the  name  of  the 
one  involuntarily  suggests  the  other.  Mendelssohn  once  re- 
ceived from  his  friend  an  English  book,  and  when  he  asked 
him  how  he  liked  it,  the  answer  of  Mendelssohn  was :  "  I 
could  produce  such  *a  thing  myself."  A  few  weeks  later 
Mendelssohn  showed  Lessing  one  of  his  own  manuscripts 
for  perusal,  and,  without  the  knowledge  of  its  author, 
Lessing  had  it  printed.  It  was  "  Mendelssohn's  Philo- 
sophical Conversations."  Printed  copy  in  hand,  the  stanch 
friend  of  Moses  Mendelssohn  entered  the  latter's  house 
and  handed  him  the  book,  which  the  author  at  once  and 
to  his  great  surprise  recognized  as  his  own.  That  book 
created  a  profound  sensation,  and  from  that  time  Moses  of 
Dessau  became  a  celebrity.  Bernhard  made  him  partner  of 
his  business,  and  in  1762  Mendelssohn  married  the  well- 


MOSES  MENDELSSOHN.  95 


educated  Frummet  Guggenheim,  of  Hamburg.  They  had 
four  sons  and  four  daughters.  (Felix  Mendelssohn  Bar- 
tholdy,  the  celebrated  composer,  was  a  grandson  of  Moses 
Mendelssohn.) 

About  this  time  the  Jewish  religion  was  made  an  object  of 
attack  by  the  enemies  of  the  Bible,  who  claimed  that  Judaism 
did  not  teach  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  In  vindication  of 
his  faith,  and  still  more  as  a  rebuke  to  his  antagonists, 
Moses  published  his  "  Phaedon,"  in  which  he  demonstrated 
that  second  principle  doctrine  of  his  religion.  This  work, 
too,  met  with  abundant  success,  and  through  it  he  became 
world-renowned.  Many  celebrities  and  acknowledged  lights 
of  science  sought  to  gain  his  friendship,  for  he  was  a  man 
whose  versatile  talent  and  deep  knowledge  were  coupled  with 
modesty  and  affability.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Academy  at  Berlin,  which  learned  body  had  unanimously 
awarded  him  the  prize  in  1784;  Frederick  II.,  however,  hjid 
refused  his  consent  to  its  presentation.  On  hearing  of  the 
decision  of  the  king,  which  was  adverse  to  his  election,  Men- 
delssohn, with  great  equanimity,  remarked :  "  It  is  much 
better  and  more  honorable  to  be  found  worthy  of  an  aca- 
demical chair  by  the  Academy,  and  not  by  the  king,  than  to 
become  a  member  of  the  Academy  by  the  king's  word,  over 
the  will  and  the  decision  of  the  academicians."  Mendels- 
sohn was  a  noble,  pious  Jew,  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
doctrines  of  his  religion.  The  mental  improvement  of  his 
Jewish  brethren  was  the  object  which  he  had  mostly  at  heart, 
and  he  earnestly  strove  for  their  social  elevation. 

Lavater,  a  celebrated  clergyman  of  Zurich,  greatly  re- 
spected Mendelssohn,  but  sought  to  convert  him  to  his  faith. 
The  great  man  gently  and  spiritedly  repelled  all  these  at- 
tempts, and  by  his  fine  tact  and  elegance  of  speech  he  suc- 
ceeded in  preventing  attacks  upon  and  all  prejudices  against 
Judaism. 


96  MOSES  MENDELSSOHN. 

His  translation  of  the  Bible  into  German  marked  an  im- 
portant epoch  in  the  history  of  Judaism,  affecting  not  only 
the  Jews  in  Germany,  but  even  those  in  foreign  countries. 
This  translation  not  only  facilitated  the  understanding  of 
the  sacred  book,  but  it  was  also  a  means  of  teaching  the 
German  language  to  his  brethren.  Yet  he  did  not  escape  the 
animosity  of  many,  who  offered  strenuous  objection  to  the 
before  unheard-of  innovation,  and  who  finally  caused  his  ex- 
communication. Nevertheless,  the  Bible  spread  rapidly,  and 
found  access  into  many,  many  houses.  In  honor  of  his 
dearest  friend,  Lessing,  he  published  his  "  Morning  Hours," 
spirited  and  profound  conversations  about  God  and  the  in- 
fluence of  religion  upon  human  society.  These  conversations 
had  in  reality  been  held  between  himself  and  his  children  or 
friends.  This  work  had  the  effect  of  securing  for  him  the 
name  of  the  '*  German  Plato."  In  his  work  called  "Jerusa- 
lem," he  treats  with  much  erudition  the  principles  of  spirit- 
ual liberty,  of  freedom  of  conscience  and  faith.  He  was  the 
third  Moses  in  Israel's  history  —  a  man  of  God,  uniting 
within  himself  religion  and  science  in  a  manner  rarely  found 
in  any  one  individual,  and  setting  a  noble  example  to 
his  people  and  to  mankind.  The  better  social  position 
which  the  Jews  occupied  during  the  years  from  1850  to  1870 
— their  social  and  political  equality,  guaranteed  them  by  the 
Constitution — is  due  to  the  exertions  of  Moses  Mendelssohn, 
who  during  his  lifetime  prepared  and  paved  the  way  for 
progressive  ideas,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  proud 
temple  of  tolerance  and  liberty. 

The  fourth  day  of  January,  1786,  is  justly  marked  as  a 
day  of  gloom  for  Israel,  for  on  it  Moses  Mendelssohn  —  the 
man,  the  Israelite,  the  scholar,  the  friend  and  the  great  re- 
former— departed  this  life.  His  remains  were  followed  to 
their  last  resting-place  by  a  vast  concourse  of  warm  friends 
and  admirers. 


MOSES  MENDELSSOHN.  97 

His  memory  is  immortal.  He  has  carved  for  himself  a 
proud  monument,  which  is  adorned  with  the  chaplets :  "The 
elevation  of  Israel,  the  ennoblement  of  the  German  language 
and  science,  his  generous  character  and  his  philosophical 
works."  (In  1879,  the  150th  anniversary  of  Mendelssohn's 
birth,  and  also  that  of  Lessing,  were  worthily  celebrated  in 
Germany  by  the  publication  of  a  magnificently  executed 
"  Lessing-Mendelssohn  Gedenkbuch,"  a  memorial  volume. 
Besides  this,  the  united  German  Israelitish  congregations, 
"  Gemeindebund,"  purchased  the  house  in  Dessau  in  which 
Mendelssohn  was  born,  and  dedicated  it  as  the  home  of  poor 
Israelitish  scholars ;  the  family  of  Mendelssohn,  now  living 
in  Berlin,  contributing  toward  the  purchase  of  that  house.) 
In  many  German  cities  there  were  also  established  "  Men- 
delssohn societies,"  for  the  promotion  of  Jewish  lore  and 
science. 

Of  the  friends  and  disciples  of  Mendelssohn  there  may  be 
mentioned : 

1.  The  non-Israelitish  poet,  Lessing,  whose  masterpiece  is 
that  sublime  drama,  "  Nathan  the  Wise."  In  this  inspired 
production,  the  poet  glorifies  Judaism,  teaches  tolerance  to- 
ward those  of  other  creeds,  and  "  Nathan,"  the  most  promi- 
nent and  central  figure  of  that  drama,  is  the  faithful  portrait 
of  Mendelssohn. 

2.  Hartwig  Wessely,  born  in  Hamburg  in  1722  and  died  in 
Hamburg  in  1805.  He  was  a  talented  and  imaginative  au- 
thor, who  systematically  attacked  and  persistently  fought 
against  sanctimoniousness  and  ignorance ;  he  was  distin- 
guished also  as  a  poet,  orator,  theologian  and  grammarian. 

3.  Herz  Homberg,  the  tutor  of  Mendelssohn's  children, 
and  celebrated  for  his  improvement  in  the  Jewish  school 
system  in  Galicia. 

4.  Isaac  Euchel,  the  first  translator  of  liturgical  prayers. 
After  Mendelssohn  there  worked  in  his  spirit  David  Fried- 


THE  JEWS  IN  AUSTRIA. 


lander,  alderman  in  Berlin;  Bensev ;  Dubno ;  the  poet 
Ephraim  Kuh ;  the  philosopher  Dr.  Marcus  Herz ;  Profes- 
sor Levisohn,  and  many  others. 

V. — THE  JEWS  IN  AUSTRIA. 

No  prince  had  ever  been  kindlier  disposed  toward  the 
Jews  than  Emperor  Joseph  II.  In  1782  he  promulgated  the 
well-known  "  Edict  of  Toleration,"  by  which  the  Jews  were 
guaranteed  full  recognition  of  their  inalienable  rights ;  they 
were  not  to  be  excluded  from  any  advancement ;  the  pubhc 
schools  were  to  be  opened  to  them,  and  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  of  German  made  easy.  They  were  also  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  military  service,  to  have  the  privilege  of  estab- 
lishing factories  and  engaging  in  agricultural  pursuits,  with 
the  restriction,  however  that  they  should  employ  only  He- 
brew laborers,  in  order  to  attract  many  to  that  occupa- 
tion. His  successors  while  not  positively  antagonistic,  were 
lukewarm  in  matters  concerning  the  Jews,  and  while  the 
emancipation  did  not  retrograde,  its  progress  was  very  slow 
indeed.  Full  emancipation  of  the  Jews  in  Austria  is  com- 
paratively of  recent  date.  With  the  accession  to  the  throne 
of  Francis  Joseph  I.,  the  present  emperor,  in  1848,  all  possi- 
ble rights  and  privileges  were  granted  them.  Previous  to 
that  year,  however,  they  were  repeatedly  harassed  and  con- 
fined ;  thus,  for  instance,  the  Jews  in  Galicia  were  not  per- 
mitted to  follow  a  profession,  while  in  their  small  trades 
they  were  greatly  taxed ;  thus,  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia  only 
the  eldest  or  first  son  of  any  family  could  obtain  permission 
from  the  government  to  marry;  the  Jew  was  permitted  to 
acquire  land,  but  was  compelled  to  work  it  himself.  In 
Hungary  the  Jews  gained  more  and  more  liberties  and  privi- 
leges. In  1844  they  were  allowed  to  engage  in  art  or  science, 
to  study  and  practice  law,  become  pharmacists  and  engi- 
neers or  acquire  landed  property.    About  the  year  1864, 


THE  JEWS  IN  RUSSIA.  99 


Baron  Eotvos,the  liberal,  learned  and  tolerant  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  convened  an  Israelitish  Congress  to  arrange  several 
matters  affecting  Jewish  life,  and  to  deliberate  on  the  best 
way  for  employing  the  school  fund  of  IjOOOjOOO  guilders, 
which  the  king  had  placed  at  the  disposal  of  those  who  de- 
sired the  establishment  of  better  schools  and  the  employment 
of  better  teachers. 

VI. —  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  JEWS  IN  OTHER  EUROPEAN  STATES. 

The  Jews  in  Russia  were  most  unfortunately  situated.  In 
July,  1768,  Empress  Catherine  issued  a  manifesto,  which 
breathed  hatred  and  destruction  against  Poland  and  the 
Jews.  Alexander  I.,  to  whom  the  Jews  had  rendered  valua- 
able  services  in  the  wars  of  1812,  found  no  time  to  con- 
sider their  condition.  He  acknowledged,  it  is  true,  his 
indebtedness  to  them,  and  promised  to  ameliorate  their  con- 
dition, but  besides  these  and  other  negative  advantages,  they 
gained  nothing.  When,  in  1825,  however,  his  successor, 
Nicholas  I.,  ascended  the  throne,  he  at  once  instituted  a  sys- 
tematic and  unparalleled  persecution  of  his  Jewish  subjects. 
In  the  year  following  his  accession  to  the  throne,  he  ban- 
ished the  Jews  from  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow ;  in  1828  he 
compelled  them  to  enter  mihtary  service,  but  without  any 
prospect  of  promotion.  The  most  prescriptive  laws  were 
enacted,  which  embittered  the  lives  of  the  Jews ;  and  not 
until  Alexander  II.  (recently  assassinated  in  St.  Petersburg) 
became  Czar  did  their  condition  change  for  the  better,  al- 
though even  now,  at  this  writing,  they  justly  complain  of 
great  misery  and  oppression  at  the  hands  of  the  populace, 
which  the  government  seems  unable  to  control. 

Most  of  the  Russian  (Polish)  Jews  keep  aloof  from  their  non- 
Jewish  fellow-citizens,  preserve  a  peculiarity  of  dress,  use  a 
corrupt  German  in  conversation,  and  by  their  singular  intona- 
tion of  words  and  by  many  repulsive  habits  they  have  exposed 


100  THE  JEWS  IN  ENGLAND  AND  SWITZERLAND. 

themselves  to  the  ridicule  of  others.  The  Russian  Jews, 
however,  justly  boast  of  many  bright  and  well-informed 
men,  who  diligently  pursue  the  study  of  religion,  the  Talmud 
and  profane  science;  many  among  them  are  mechanics  and 
agriculturists,  while  others  delight  in  indolence,  and  thereby 
throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  poverty.  Since  the  acces- 
sion to  the  Russian  throne  of  Alexander  II.,  their  social  and 
political  condition  has  somewhat  improved.  The  number  of 
Jews  living  in  Russia  is  decidedly  greater  than  that  to  be 
found  in  any  other  country. 

Infinitely  better  situated  in  every  respect  are  the  Jews  in 
England.  The  seed  sown  by  Manasse  ben  Israel  (see  above, 
Part  II.,  Chap,  xx.,)  has  borne  magnificent  fruit.  By  great 
diligence,  virtue  and  charity  they  proved  themselves  emi- 
nently worthy  of  their  liberty,  while  through  these  very 
agencies  they  acquired  power,  gained  wealth  and  secured  in- 
fluence. As  early  as  1856  David  Solomons  was  elected  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,  while  to-day  many  Jews  occupy  positions 
of  trust  and  honor.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  the 
many  who  are  distinguished  by  the  government,  but  we  can 
not  omit  to  make  mention  of  the  most  illustrious  and  promi- 
nent British  Jew  of  this  century  —  the  man  who  has  lived  a 
long  and  useful  life,  who  has  ever  espoused  and  even  now  es- 
pouses the  cause  of  his  brethren ;  the  man  to  whom  all  Is- 
raelites owe  so  much  for  his  untiring  energy  and  zeal  on 
their  behalf— Sir  Moses  Montefiore,  now  ninety-six  years  of 
age. 

In  Switzerland,  too,  the  condition  of  the  Jews  has  much 
improved.  In  the  fifteenth  century  they  were  restricted  to 
the  Canton  Aargau,  and  there  they  were  permitted  to  live 
only  in  Lingenau  and  Endigen.  Even  in  the  eighteenth 
century  they  were  not  allowed  to  bury  their  dead  upon 
their  native  soil,  but  on  an  island  near  by,  called  "Jew 
Island."      With  the   dawn   of   the   present  century,  how- 


THE  JEWS  IN  ITALY.  101 

ever,  these  restrictions  were  gradually  removed.  The  10,000 
Jews  who  now  inhabit  Switzerland  enjoy  full  liberty  and 
equal  rights  with  the  other  inhabitants.  Some  twenty-five 
years  ago  there  was  an  attempt  made  by  the  government  to 
abolish  the  Shechita  (that  is,  the  killing  of  beasts  according 
to  the  rabbinical  code).  It  was  held  to  be  barbarous  and 
cruelty  to  animals.  But  the  energetic  interference  of  the 
learned  rabbi.  Dr.  Kayserling,  frustrated  the  attempt.  He 
adduced,  in  addition  to  his  own  arguments,  the  testimony  of 
renowned  non-Jewish  scholars,  who  unanimously  testified 
that  the  rabbinical  Shechita  was  the  easiest  and  most  pain- 
less manner  of  killing  animals. 

When  Victor  Emanuel  adopted  the  Constitution,  by  a 
provision  of  which  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  ceased, 
the  Jews  of  Italy,  and  of  her  capital,  Rome,  began  to  hear 
the  rustling  of  the  wings  of  a  new  and  better  era.  The  re- 
strictive measures  concerning  the  Jews,  which  had  proved 
fatal  to  the  free  and  full  development  of  Judaism,  were  re- 
moved, and  at  once  the  morning  dawned,  after  a  long,  dark 
and  dreary  night.  While  yet  under  Austrian  rule,  there  was 
established  a  celebrated  rabbinical  seminary  at  Padua,  at 
which,  among  other  notabilities,  the  eminent  scholar,  S.  D. 
Luzzato,  was  one  of  the  professors.  This  seat  of  learning 
ceased  to  exist  when  Lombardy  and  Venice  passed  into  the 
power  of  Italy. 

The  Jews  of  Italy  of  the  present  day  excel  in  industrial 
and  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1858  an  event  transpired 
which  deserves  to  be  mentioned  here.  There  lived  in  Rome 
at  that  time  a  Jewish  family  by  the  name  of  Mortara.  They 
had  a  very  bright  and  promising  boy,  who,  by  order  of  the 
Pope,  was  forcibly  taken  from  his  parents,  baptized  and  edu- 
cated in  the  Catholic  Church.  A  cry  of  indignation  rose,  the 
Jews  all  over  the  earth  loudly  protested  against  this  high- 
handed outrage,  and  Sir  Moses  Montefiore  went  to  Rome  in 


102  THE  JEWS  IN  TURKEY. 

order  to  secure  from  the  Pope  the  return  of  that  boy,  but  in 
vain.  The  helplessness  of  the  Jews  led  them  to  form  a 
union  for  the  more  effectual  protection  of  their  rights,  and  in 
1860,  with  Adolphe  Cremieux  as  the  head,  the  "  Alliance  Is- 
raelite Universelle"  was  formed,  which  has  since  done  a  great 
amount  of  good  toward  securing  and  defending  the  rights  of 
the  Jews. 

Step  by  step  the  Jews  progressed  toward  liberty ;  country 
after  country  joined  the  proud  ranks  of  enlightenment,  jus- 
tice and  humanity.  Thus  the  year  1838  signalized  the 
marked  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  Tur- 
key. After  the  Russo  -  Turkish  War  (1853-56),  Sultan 
Abdul  Medjid  placed  them  on  full  equality  with  his  Mussul- 
man subjects,  and  his  succesfc«or,  Abdul  Aziz  (murdered  in 
1876),  imposed  upon  them  equal  duties  and  granted  them 
equal  rights  with  the  other  citizens. 

The  Jews  all  over  the  European  continent,  recognizing  the 
good  intentions  of  the  Turkish  government,  endeavored  to 
do  their  share  toward  making  their  co-religionists  in  the 
East  worthy  of  the  grace  of  their  ruler.  They  established 
schools  and  other  institutions  at  Jerusalem,  Cairo  and  Con- 
stantinople, and  the  Rothschilds,  Moses  Montefiore,  and  the 
native  Americans,  Juda  Touro  and  Simmons,  bore  the  ex- 
penses of  erecting  and  maintaining  those  institutions. 

Most  of  the  Jews  of  Turkey,  however,  are  very  poor,  and 
depend  largely  on  the  support  of  the  charitably  inclined.  In 
the  last  Russo-Turkish  war,  where  many  of  the  unfortunate 
Jews  were  compelled  to  flee,  their  European  brethren,  the 
"  Alliance  Israelite  "  (mentioned  before  and  to  be  spoken  of 
in  a  later  chapter),  and  especially  one  of  their  co-religionists, 
Baron  Hirsch — who  gave  1,000,000  francs  for  their  support — 
clearly  manifested  their  charitable  disposition  and  their 
magnanimity.  Greece,  Servia,  Roumania  and  Bulgaria,  for- 
merly under  Turkish  vassalage,  offered  obstinate  resistance  to 


THE  JEWS  IN  ASIA.  103 


the  recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  Jews.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  Greece  those  small  principalities  were,  and  to  some 
extent  are  yet,  the  very  hot-beds  of  intolerance,  persecution 
and  oppression.  Until  very  recently  they  were  regarded  and 
treated  as  aliens ;  though  they  had  sacrificed  their  property 
and  spilt  their  blood  for  their  country,  they  were  excluded 
from  public  office  and  rank,  they  could  acquire  no  landed 
property ;  even  in  commerce,  or  the  renting  of  taverns  or 
mechanical  pursuits,  they  met  with  serious  and  vexatious 
opposition,  and  nowhere  did  the  Jews  of  the  present  decade 
suffer  so  much  and  such  cruel  maltreatment  as  in  Roumania 
and  Bulgaria.  Murder,  plunder  and  expulsion,  rape  and  ex- 
termination were  the  watchwords  of  the  mob,  and  the  gov- 
ernment did  nothing,  and  now  does  very  little,  for  the 
oppressed.  In  1878  there  met  a  congress  at  Berlin,  repre- 
senting all  European  governments,  and  then  and  there, 
under  the  presidency  of  Prince  Bismarck,  one  of  the  greatest 
diplomats  of  this  age,  the  recognition  of  the  independence  of 
these  States  was  agreed  upon,  on  condition  that  they  would 
grant  equal  rights  to  all,  irrespective  of  their  faith  or  creed. 
The  late  Benjamin  Disraeli,  Earl  of  Beaconsfield,  who  died  in 
1881,  played  a  prominent  part  at  that  congress.  Although 
these  conditions  are  not  yet  fully  complied  with,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  in  due  time  the  barriers  will  fall,  and  men  will  be 
judged  by  their  deeds  and  not  by  their  creeds. 

VII. — THE  JEWS  IN  ASIA. 

Palestine,  the  Holy  Land,  the  celebrated  and  much-beloved 
home  of  the  Jews  (Eretz  Israel),  with  its  capital,  Jerusalem, 
presents  a  very  sad  spectacle  to-day.  All  the  glory  of  former 
days  is  vanished,  and  ruins  mark  the  venerable  magnifi- 
cence of  yore.  Since  the  religious  persecutions  in  Spain, 
Portugal  and  Italy,  many  Israelites  settled  in  Palestine,  con- 
sisting partly  of  those  expelled  from  Spain,  the  so-called 


104  THE  JEWS  IN  ASIA. 


Sefardim,  or  Portuguese,  and  partly  also  of  Polish  and  Ger- 
man Jews,  Ashkenazim,  who  form  congregations  and  re- 
ligious communities  there. 

Reminiscences  of  olden  times,  the  holy  love  for  the  an- 
cient land  of  promise,  induced  many  Jews  in  all  countries 
to  emigrate  to  Palestine,  where  most  of  them  subsist  by  the 
considerable  sums  of  money  sent  there  for  their  support 
by  European  and  American  co-religionists.  These  moneys 
are  sent  by  almost  every  congregation  to  the  Holy  Land,  and 
the  proper  authorities  distribute  them  among  beneficiaries 
in  equitable  proportion.  This  distribution  is  called  ChaluJca. 
Besides  this,  the  European  Jews  are  endeavoring  to  establish 
hospitals,  schools,  and  many  other  charitable  institutions. 
In  recent  years  a  strenuous  effort  is  being  made  to  counteract 
an  evil,  hitherto  prevalent  among  the  Palestinean  Jews  —  the 
evil  of  indolence.  Hitherto  the  only  occupation  of  the  Jews 
in  Palestine  was  the  study  of  the  Talmud  and  Hebrew  casu- 
istry. Now  they  are  forced  to  give  their  children  proper  edu- 
cation and  instruction  in  profane  science,  and  to  qualify 
them  either  for  agricultural  or  mechanical  pursuits.  Thanks 
also  to  the  efforts  of  the  Austrian  Government,  the  social 
position  of  the  Jews  in  Palestine  has  considerably  improved, 
and  while  not  yet  on  perfectly  equal  footing  with  their 
Christian  and  Mohammedan  fellow-men,  they  approach 
steadily  a  state  of  full  emancipation. 

Several  Jewish  congregations  exist  also  in  Persia,  Arabia 
and  China,  but  we  have  very  meager  information  of  the 
same.  In  China,  it  is  said,  the  Jews  are  perfectly  free,  en- 
joying the  same  rights  as  do  the  Chinese.  Their  language  is 
a  mixture  of  Hebrew  and  Persian.  Their  holy  writings 
(as  was  mentioned  above.  Part  IL,  Chap,  i.)  are  divided  into 
thirteen  books,  twelve  of  which  are  in  honor  of  the  twelve 
tribes,  and  one  in  honor  of  Moses.  They  observe  the  Sab- 
bath and  many  other  ceremonies,  but  do  not  understand  the 


THE  JEWS  IN  AFRICA.  106 

pure  Hebrew  language.  The  Jewish  congregations  in  India, 
which  stand  under  British  dominion,  consist  of  white  and 
black  Jews.  The  white  Jews  are  engaged  in  commerce  and 
agriculture,  and  enjoy  many  privileges  which  the  black  Jews 
are  denied. 

The  black  Jews  descend  from  immigrants  into  India, 
married  to  black  female  slaves.  They  are  rated  much  lower 
on  the  social  scale,  and  are  mostly  mechanics.  The  colonists 
called  Bene  Israel,  living  at  Bombay,  Concan  and  other  cities, 
are  of  Persian  descent,  and  counted  with  the  Indian  Jews. 
This  is  a  commercial  tribe,  leading  a  patriarchal  life,  and 
using  the  Indian  language  exclusively.  They  celebrate  the 
Sabbath  and  the  Day  of  Atonement. 

VIII. — THE  JEWS  IN  AFRICA. 

With  very  few  exceptions,  the  Jews  of  this  continent, 
numbering  one  and  a  half  million,  are  sorely  oppressed. 
They  occupy  a  very  low  position  socially,  especially  in  Mo- 
rocco, Tunis  and  Tripoli,  where  they  formerly  enjoyed  some 
rights  and  liberties.  They  are  now  excluded  from  all  recog- 
nition of  their  rights,  and  seek  in  their  religion  a  substi- 
tute for  the  earthly  joys  denied  them ;  yet  they  sink  lower 
and  Kwer  in  ignorance  and  apathy.  (It  deserves  to  be  noted 
that  in  1823  a  Jew  from  Fez  was  appointed  consul-general 
for  all  European  courts.)  The  Jews  in  Egypt  are  not  more 
favored  than  their  brethren  in  other  African  provinces. 
They,  too,  stand  very  low  socially;  wealth  does  not  exist 
among  them,  or,  if  it  does,  in  very  rare  and  exceptional 
cases ;  poverty  is  the  rule,  and  this  brings  on  many  dangerous 
sicknesses,  which  claim  numerous  victims. 

The  Falashahs,  another  Jewish  tribe  of  Africa,  inhabit 
Abyssinia.  They  are  said  to  have  settled  in  Africa  as  early 
as  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the  first  temple  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar (586  B.  C.)     Some  of  the  customs  practiced  by 


106  THE  JEWS  IN  AUSTRALIA. 

them  to-day  may  be  traced  back  to  the  Mosaic  law.  They 
are  subject  to  the  Abyssinian  princes,  and  their  principal  oc- 
cupations are  those  of  brickmakers,  locksmiths  and  black- 
smiths. Modern  scholars  devote  their  attention  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  this  tribe,  of  which  but  little  is  as  yet  known. 

The  Jewish  population  of  Algiers,  consisting  of  natives 
and  immigrants,  principally  from  France,  had  likewise 
much  to  endure.  In  1847  they  were  exposed  to  the  most 
cruel  treatment.  Sword,  famine  and  utter  misery  effectively 
performed  the  work  of  decimation  among  them.  Under 
French  rule,  their  condition  has  materially  improved,  al- 
though even  to-day  their  oppression  in  the  uncivilized  parts 
of  Africa  is  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  great  Israelitish  in- 
stitutions, the  Alliance  in  France  and  the  Board  of  Delegates 
of  American  Israelites,  which  in  1878  became  part  and 
parcel  of  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations,  af- 
ford them  powerful  aid  and  protection. 

IX. — THE  JEWS  IN  AUSTRALIA. 

On  this  continent,  several  thousand  of  our  co-religionists 
have  found  a  home.  They  are  in  fair  circumstances.  The  first 
Jewish  settlement  was  in  Sydney,  where  they  erected  a  beau- 
tiful synagogue,  which  has  become  a  place  to  which  all  Aus- 
tralian Jews  hasten,  from  their  distant  settlements  and 
scattered  habitations,  whenever  the  high  festivals  attune  the 
Jewish  hearts  to  fervent  devotion  and  earnest  meditation. 
Within  the  past  few  years,  however,  several  other  congrega- 
tions have  been  founded,  prominent  among  which  is  that  at 
Melbourne.  They  have  houses  of  prayer  and  instruction, 
which  are  conducted  after  the  model  of  European  or  Ameri- 
can congregations. 


THE  JEWS  IN  AMERICA.  107 

X. — THE  JEWS  IN  AMERICA. 

When,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  the  fate  of  the  Jews  in 
Europe,  and  especially  in  Spain,  was  most  deplorable,  it 
was,  as  though  by  Divine  Providence,  that  the  New  World 
was  discovered,  a  country  destined  to  become  great  and 
powerful,  wealthy  and  influential,  but  above  all  the  true  and 
safe  asylum  for  all  oppressed  people. 

That  noble  mission  of  befriending  the  friendless,  of  shel- 
tering the  homeless,  and  granting  true  recognition  to  man  by 
the  standard  of  his  merits  only,  America  has  most  perfectly 
executed.  Ever  since  the  memorable  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, containing  those  assurances  of  securing  to  every 
man  his  inalienable  rights  of  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness,  there  has  been  perfect  equality  of  all  religions  be- 
fore the  law.  Nowhere  has  the  constitution  and  the  statute 
book  been  bo  true  an  exponent  of  the  practice.  The  char- 
acter and  ability  of  a  man  are  alone  the  tests  of  his  worth, 
and  not  his  descent  or  creed. 

Jewish  congregations  are,  therefore,  the  peers  of  all  other 
congregations,  and  are  fully  recognized  and  protected  by  the 
law.  In  the  United  States  of  North  America,  and  especially 
in  the  cities  of  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  Cincin- 
nati, Baltimore,  Charleston,  Savannah,  Providence,  New  Or- 
leans, San  Francisco,  etc.,  there  are  numerous  congregations, 
governed  by  excellent  laws  and  constitutions.  Their  temples 
are  ornamental  buildings,  adorning  the  finest  thoroughfares. 
Their  grand  institutions  of  charity  and  instruction  are  evi- 
dences not  only  of  the  wealth  the  Jews  have  acquired  in  this 
country,  but  of  the  charitable  feelings  hereditary  in  them  as 
well. 

The  first  Jewish  settlers  on  American  soil  came  from 
Spain  at  the  time  of  the  Inquisition.  In  1624  they  settled 
in  Brazil,  whence  they  went  to  Cayenne,  where  they  found 


108  THE  JEWS  IN  AMERICA. 

about  6,000  co-religionists,  emigrants  from  Holland.  When 
the  French,  in  later  years,  destroyed  this  colony,  the  Jews 
went  to  Surinam,  an  English  settlement,  where  they  ob- 
tained perfect  civil  liberty,  which  they  retained.  In  the 
seventeenth  century  they  went  to  Central  America,  where 
they  formed  congregations.  The  greatest  influx  of  Euro- 
pean Jews  to  this  great  and  blessed  continent  occurred  since 
the  beginning  of  this  century. 

The  first  Jewish  settlement  in  the  United  States  was  in 
Newport,  R,  I.,  where  they  built  a  beautiful  synagogue,  ac- 
quired a  fine  cemetery,  and  established  many  other  useful 
institutions.  But  Newport  becoming  too  narrow  for  the  de- 
velopment of  Jewish  talent  and  energy,  they  went  to  New 
York,  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  New  World.  The 
synagogue  at  Newport  is  now  empty,  there  being  no  Jewish 
congregation,  yet  it  is  kept  in  good  repair  through  a  legacy 
of  Judah  Touro,  who  was  born  there,  and  who,  acquiring 
great  wealth,  most  liberally  endowed  many  charitable  insti- 
tutions, notably  the  "  Touro  Infirmary,"  at  New  Orleans,  La. 
The  oldest  congregations  were  established  in  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Savannah  and  Charleston,  where  the  Portu- 
guese prevailed.  Since  1835  the  influx  of  Jews  into  the 
United  States  from  all  parts  of  Europe  has  steadily  in- 
creased, and  the  number  of  Jews  now  residing  under  the 
"  stars  and  stripes  "  is  over  250,000.  In  almost  every  city 
and  town  there  now  exists  at  least  one  Jewish  congregation, 
and  many  own  costly  and  magnificent  buildings  consecrated 
to  the  service  of  God. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  with  her  Jewish  population  of 
about  70,000,  there  are  no  less  than  twenty-nine  synagogues ; 
in  Philadelphia,  six ;  in  Boston,  three ;  in  Charleston,  two ; 
in  Richmond,  two;  in  Savannah,  one;  in  New  Orleans, 
three;  in  Mobile,  one;  in  Louisville,  two;  in  Cincinnati, 
five;  in  St.  Louis,  three ;  in  Chicago,  five;  in  Detroit,  two; 


THE  GREAT  JEWISH  SOCIETIES.  109 


in  Milwaukee,  two;  in  San  Francisco,  four;  in  Cleveland, 
two;  in  Montgomery,  one;  in  Atlanta,  one;  in  Brooklyn 
and  Williamsburg,  three ;  etc. 

In  all,  there  are  no  less  than  278  Hebrew  congregations  in 
the  United  States.  Commercially  the  Jews  in  this  Repub- 
lic are  very  successful  and  financially  prosperous,  while 
many  hold  public  office,  municipal,  legislative,  judicial, 
etc.  The  schools  and  charitable  institutions  are  highly 
creditable  to  them,  and  they  enjoy  the  respect  and  es- 
teem of  their  Christian  fellow-citizens,  as  men,  as  merchants 
and  as  citizens. 

XI. — THE  GREAT  JEWISH  SOCIETIES. 

The  present  century  has  witnessed  the  formation  and  es- 
tablishment of  many  influential  societies,  called  into  ex- 
istence by  earnest,  zealous  Israelites,  who  aimed  at  the 
improvement  of  the  condition  of  their  brethren  in  countries 
where  they  yet  suffer  from  the  injustice,  ignorance  or  ill-will 
of  the  masses.  These  institutions  are  to  serve  a  three-fold 
purpose:  (1)  to  support  the  unfortunate  Jews  by  effective 
material  assistance;  (2)  to  further  their  spiritual  develop- 
ment; and  (3)  to  intercede  in  their  behalf  at  those  seats  of 
government  which  are  occupied  by  enlightened  rulers,  and 
from  them  to  secure  for  their  brethren  humane  treatment 
and  justice. 

Among  these  societies  we  must  mention  prominently  the 
*'  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,"  founded  in  France.  The 
seat  of  this  Alliance  is  Paris;  the  first  President  of  the 
same  was  the  late  M.  Adolphe  Cremieux,  once  Minister  of 
Justice  of  France.  Up  to  his  death  (February,  1880)  that 
great  and  eminent  man  presided  at  the  deliberations  of  that 
body,  and  worked  successfully  in  furtherance  of  the  high 
»  bjcct  of  that  society.    But  though  its  seat  is  in  Paris,  its 


110  THE  GREAT  JEWISH  SOCIETIES. 

members  and  representatives  are  to  be  found  throughout  all 
civilized  lands.  It  is  owing  to  the  laudable  efforts  of  the 
"  Alliance  "  that  the  Jews  of  the  Orient  —  Africa,  Turkey, 
Bulgaria,  Roumania  and  other  countries  —  are  permitted  to 
live  as  human  beings,  and  to  find  protection  against  oppres- 
sion. The  "  Alliance  "  has  established  and  now  maintains 
several  religious,  mechanical  and  industrial  schools.  The 
agricultural  school  at  Joppa,  established  by  the  late  Albert 
Cohn,  of  Paris,  owes  its  existence,  perpetuity  and  usefulness 
to  the  "Alliance." 

Other  similar  societies  are  :  The  "  Israelitish  Alliance,"  of 
Vienna ;  the  "  Anglo-Jewish  Association,"  at  London ;  the 
"  Shomer-Israel  Society,"  in  Lemberg,  Galicia ;  and,  last  but 
by  no  means  least,  the  influential  "  Board  of  Delegates  of 
American  Israelites  "  (since  1878  merged  into  the  Union  of 
American  Hebrew  Congregations — see  below),  which  body 
has  often  and  successfully  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  unfortu- 
nate Jews  on  other  continents,  before  the  government  of  this 
great  Republic. 

The  original  "Board  of  Delegates  of  American  Israelites"  was 
instituted  about  twenty  years.  It  was  established  shortly  after 
the  abduction  of  Edgar  Mortara.  In  order  to  carry  out  its 
designs  more  fully,  and  to  extend  its  sphere  of  usefulness,  it 
amalgamated  with  the  "  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congre- 
gations," and  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  "  Board  of  Dele- 
gates of  Civil  and  Religious  Rights,"  appointed  by  the 
Executive  Board  of  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Con- 
gregations, and  has  its  seat  in  New  York  City. 

In  Leipsic,  Germany,  Mr.  Maurice  Kohner  established,  in 
1869,  "  Der  Deutsch  Israelitische  Gemeindebund  "  (Union  of 
German  Israelitish  Congregations),  whose  object  it  is  to 
guard  the  interests  of  the  Congregations  and  their  various 
institutions.     Mr.  Jacob  Nachod  is  at  present  at  the  helm 


THE  GREAT  JEWISH  SOCIETIES.  Ill 

of  this  society,  and  the  results  achieved  by  it  are  quite  en- 
couraging. 

Numerous  "  Teachers'  Associations  "  are  the  product  of 
recent  years,  and  their  object  is  the  improvement  of  re- 
ligious instruction  and  the  support  of  indigent  or  disabled 
teachers,  their  widows  and  orphans.  "  Achava- Brother- 
hood "  is  the  name  of  a  most  extensive  and  beneficial  so- 
ciety ;  its  seat  is  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

In  America  there  are,  besides  the  "  Union  of  American 
Hebrew  Congregations,"  numerous  other  societies,  such  as 
the  Orders  "  B'nai  Berith,"  "  Kesher  Shel  Barzel,"  "  Free 
Sons  of  Israel,"  relief,  charitable  and  benevolent  societies, 
and  various  homes,  hospitals  and  orphan  asylums. 

The  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations,  estab- 
lished at  Cincinnati  in  1873,  has  for  its  object  the  establish- 
ment of  a  "  Hebrew  Theological  College,"  the  unification  of 
American  Jews,  and  the  progress  of  Judaism.  The  Union  is 
presided  over  by  Mr.  M.  Loth,  of  Cincinnati,  a  gentleman 
well  known  throughout  the  country  as  a  patriotic  American, 
faithful  Israelite,  successful  merchant,  charitable  man  and 
author  of  several  well-written  and  instructive  novels,  etc. 
The  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Board  is  Mr.  B.  Bettmann,  a 
gentleman  quite  and  justly  popular  in  Cincinnati.  The 
number  of  Congregations  constituting  the  membership  of 
the  Union  amounts  now  to  over  121,  with  a  fair  prospect  of 
being  further  increased  before  long.  It  is  universally  con- 
ceded that  American  Judaism  is  considerably  strengthened 
by  this  Union,  which  bids  fair  to  fully  accomplish  the  high 
object  of  its  mission. 

The  objects  of  the  Orders,  or  secret  societies,  in  the  United 
States,  are  the  moral,  social  and  intellectual  advancement  of 
Israelites,  pecuniary  benefit  to  members  in  case  of  sickness, 
and  in  case  of  death  an  endowment  of  $1,000  to  $2,000  to 


112  THE  GREAT  JEWISH  SOCIETIES. 

their  families.  The  Order  B'nai  Berith  has  seven  Grand 
Lodges,  with  327  Lodges  and  nearly  25,000  members. 

The  Order  Kesher  Sliel  Barzel  has  five  Grand  Lodges,  170 
subordinate  Lodges  and  10,000  members. 

The  Order  of  Free  Sons  of  Israel  and  Improved  Order  of 
Free  Sons  of  Israel  have  three  Grand  Lodges,  130  subordinate 
Lodges  and  nearly  12,000  members. 

The  following  hospitals  belong  to  the  Jews  in  the  United 
States : 

Mount  Sinai  Hospital,  in  New  York. 

Jewish  Hospital,  in  Philadelphia. 

Hebrew  Hospital,  in  Baltimore. 

Jewish  Hospital,  in  Cincinnati. 

Touro  Infirmary,  in  New  Orleans. 

The  orphan  asylums  and  homes  belonging  to  them  are  as 
follows  : 

Hebrew  Benevolent  and  Orphan  Asylum,  in  New  York. 

Foster  Home  and  Orphan  Asylum,  in  Philadelphia. 

B'nai  Berith  Orphan  Asylum,  in  Cleveland. 

Jewish  Orphan  Asylum,  in  Baltimore. 

Pacific  Orphan  Asylum,  in  San  Francisco. 

Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm,  in  Philadelphia. 

Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Hebrews,  in  New  York. 

Home  for  Widows  and  Orphans,  in  New  Orleans. 

Familien  Waisen  Verein,  in  Philadelphia. 

Deborah  Nursery  and  Child's  Protectory,  in  New  York. 

Sheltering  Guardian  Society,  in  New  York. 

Other  relief  and  charitable,  free  burial,  fuel  and  free  school 
societies,  exist  in  almost  every  city. 

The  Jewish  newspapers,  magazines  and  periodicals  pub- 
lished in  the  United  States  are  : 

Jewish  Messenger,  Hebrew  Leader,  Juedischer  Gazetten^ 
American  Hebrew  and  Jewish  Advocate,  in  New  York. 

Jewish  Record,  in  Philadelphia. 


RELIGIOUS  TENDENCIES. 


,'y^  or  tm"^) 

TJ5I7BRSIT 


Jewish  South,  in  New  Orleans. 

American  Israelite,  Die  Deborah,  Sabbath  Visitor,  and  He- 
brew (quarterly)  Review,  in  Cincinnati. 

Jewish  Tribune,  in  St.  Louis. 

Hebrew  Observer,  Hebrew^  Times  and  Progress^  in  San 
Francisco. 

Jewish  Advance  and  Occident^  in  Chicago. 

Zeitgeist f  in  Milwaukee. 

XII.— RELIGIOUS  TENDENCIES. 

In  the  fundamental  and  cardinal  doctrines  of  Judaism  all 
Israelites  agree.  The  sublime  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God, 
expressed  in  the  words,  "  Sh'ma  Jisroel,  Adonay  Elohenu, 
Adonay  Echod"  (Hear,  0  Israel,  the  Eternal  God  is  one  in 
Unity),  is  regarded  by  all  Israelites  as  the  principal  article 
of  their  faith.  There  are,  consequently,  no  sects  (in  the 
general  acceptation  of  the  term)  to  be  found  among  the 
professors  of  Judaism;  yet  there  is  among  them  a  well- 
defined  difference  of  view  and  of  tendency.  According  to 
these  differences,  we  distinguish  in  the  ranks  of  Israelites, 
those  of  Orthodox,  those  of  Reformed,  and  those  of  Conser- 
vative tendencies. 

1.  Orthodoxy  —  Rests  upon  the  basis  of  Tradition  and 
Schulchan  Aruch.  Orthodox,  or  strictly  pious  Jews,  are  very 
scrupulous  in  the  observance  of  ceremonies  and  customs, 
and  regard  as  criminal  any  deviation  therefrom,  however  old 
and  impracticable  the  forms  may  be.  The  dietary  laws  es- 
tablished by  the  rabbins  are  strictly  observed  by  them.  Not 
only  do  they  abstain  from  the  use  of  such  food  as  is  forbid- 
den in  the  Pentateuch,  but  they  also  guard  against  a  con- 
tamination of  dishes  used  for  cooking  meats  with  those  used 
for  boiling  milk,  etc.  Numerous  ceremonies  are  observed  at 
the  birth,  marriage  or  death  of  a  person.  The  mode  of  wor- 
ship they  do  not  suffer  to  undergo  the  least  change,  and  they 


114  RELIGIOUS  TENDENCIES. 

exclude  from  the  synagogue,  as  irreligious,  music  and  cho- 
ral songs.  Orthodoxy  is  losing  ground  from  year  to  year. 
In  America  there  is  but  very  little,  if  any  of  it  to  be  found. 
In  Europe,  however.  Orthodoxy  has  yet  some  very  stanch 
advocates  and  supporters. 

2.  Reform  —  Regards  Judaism  as  capable  of  and  destined 
for  development.  Its  aim  is  to  consider  the  requirements  of 
the  times,  and  to  bring  Judaism  in  accord  with  those  claims, 
without,  however,  surrendering  any  essential  and  principal 
factors  of  Judaism.  Reform  seeks  to  abolish  obsolete  cus- 
toms, to  remodel  forms  and  observances  in  accordance  with 
reason,  to  introduce  innovations  on  the  basis  of  the  essence 
of  Judaism,  as,  for  instance,  the  abbreviation  of  divine  ser- 
vices, in  order  to  secure  more  devotion;  the  omission  of 
some  prayers,  which,  by  the  change  of  circumstances,  have 
become  meaningless ;  the  recitation  of  certain  prayers  in  the 
vernacular,  in  order  to  impress  those  unacquainted  with  the 
Hebrew  language ;  the  introduction  of  the  triennial  cycle, 
i.  e.y  reading  the  Tora  in  three  years,  instead  of  completing 
it  in  one  year,  in  order  to  afford  the  teachers  of  the  congre- 
gations an  opportunity  to  better  and  more  thoroughly  ex- 
pound Scripture;  the  introduction  of  organ  music  to  ac- 
company the  singing,  as  best  calculated  to  enhance  the 
devotion  and  edification  of  the  worshipers.  All  these 
changes  or  reforms  have  received  the  sanction  of  synods, 
which,  since  1846,  have  been  held  in  Frankfort,  Breslau, 
Leipsic,  and  other  cities  in  Germany.  In  the  United  States, 
too,  there  have  been  held  several  conventions  within  the  last 
twelve  or  fifteen  years,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  Re- 
formed Judaism,  which  predominates  here,  and  is  now  resting 
upon  a  solid  foundation.  There  were  rabbinical  conferences 
held  at  Philadelphia,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland  and  New  York, 
which,  however,  have  been  unsuccessful  as  yet  in  uniting 
all  rabbis  and  congregations  upon  one  common  platform. 


RELIGIOUS  TENDENCIES.  115 


The  question  whether  a  synod  should  be  convened  or  not 
is  now  agitating  the  minds  of  many  representative  Ameri- 
can Jews. 

3.  Conservatism — Seeks  to  reconcile  the  differences  of 
opinion,  to  harmonize  the  written  law  (Torali)  and  the  oral 
law  (Tradition)  with  the  claims  of  this  advanced  age;  to 
maintain  venerable  institutions,  although  purified  and  ren- 
dered more  attractive,  and  to  impart  more  sanctity  and  de- 
votion to  the  divine  service,  not  by  discarding  the  traditional 
mode  entirely,  but  by  retaining  it  in  the  main,  and  only  re- 
moving those  features  that  are  antagonistic  to  its  purpose. 

Among  the  most  prominent  representatives  of  Orthodoxy, 
we  may  mention  the  Rabbis  Hirsh,  Hildesheimer,  Stern, 
Sofer,  Spitzer,  Lehman,  Leeser,  Morals  and  many  Tal- 
mudists. 

Of  the  champions  of  Reform,  we  mention  Holdheim,  Gei- 
ger,  Loew,  Phillippson,  Szanto,  Fassel,  Jellinek,  etc.,  in 
Europe ;  and  Wise,  Lilienthal,  Einhorn,  Hirsh,  Adler,  Grott- 
heil,  etc.,  in  America. 

Those  of  Conservative  tendencies  are  Graetz,  Frankl,  Joel, 
Guedeman,  Rahmer,  Landau,  etc.,  in  Europe,  and  Huebsch, 
Jastrow,  etc.,  in  America. 

The  different  tendencies  are  advocated  not  only  from  the 
pulpit,  but  more  especially  by  the  press,  each  of  the  three 
divisions  having  weekly  or  monthly  periodicals.  The  organs 
of  Orthodoxy  are  the  Israelite  published  by  Lehman,  in  May- 
ence;  Jewish  Press,  published  by  Meyer,  in  Berlin,  and, 
during  the  lifetime  of  Leeser,  the  Occident,  published  by  him 
in  Philadelphia. 

In  the  service  of  Reform  there  are  the  well-known  and 
long-established  Allgemeine  Zeitung  des  Judenthums,  pub- 
lished by  Phillippson,  in  Bonn;  Neuzeit,  published  by 
Szanto,  in  Vienna;  American  Israelite,  edited  by  Wise,  in 


116  JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING. 

Cincinnati;  Zeitgeist,  published  in  Milwaukee;  Jewish  Adr 
vance,  in  Chicago,  etc. 

Conservatism  is  advocated  by  Israelitische  Wochenschrift,  by 
Rahmer,  in  Magdeburg ;  Monatschrift^  a  monthly  periodical, 
formerly  by  Frankl  and  Graetz,  now  by  the  latter  only,  in 
Breslau;  Jewish  Messenger ^  by  Isaacs,  in  New  York,  and 
many  others. 

XIII. — JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  OP  LEARNING. 

With  the  improvement  of  the  outward  condition  of  the 
Israelites,  their  internal,  or,  rather,  spiritual  development 
has  steadily  kept  pace.  To  improve  mentally,  to  assist  the 
needy  and  to  fulfill  their  high  calling  was  and  is  their  aim, 
as  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  grand  institutions 
in  most  modern  times  amply  testify. 

Besides  the  magnificent  places  of  devotion  that  have  been 
erected  in  Europe  and  America  and  dedicated  to  the  service 
of  the  ever-living  God,  there  are  schools,  which  enjoy  the 
care  and  solicitude  of  all  congregations.  Of  the  numerous 
schools  of  importance  in  Germany,  whose  aim  is  the  dissemi- 
nation of  the  seeds  of  religious  knowledge  and  science 
among  the  young,  we  mention  prominently : 

1.  The  Franz  School,  in  Dessau,  the  birthplace  of  Men- 
delssohn, at  which  men  of  great  ability  were  active. 

2.  Jacobsohn's  School,  in  Seesen,  established  by  Israel 
Jacobsohn  (1768-1828),  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  ox 
German  Israel,  who  endowed  that  institution  with  $100,000. 
This  school  affords  instruction  not  only  to  indigent  students, 
for  whose  benefit  the  generous  founder  at  first  intended  it, 
but  even  many  wealthy  and  non-Jewish  parents  intrust  their 
children  to  this  seat  of  learning,  where  good  education  and 
thorough  instruction  are  to  be  obtained. 

3.  The  Samson  School,  at  Wolfenbuettel,  similar  in  plan 
and  tendency  to  the  Jacobsohn  School. 


JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING.  117 

In  addition  to  these  and  other  similar  schools,  to  be  found 
in  almost  every  large  city  of  Germany,  Austria  and  Hun- 
.  gary,  whose  object  it  is  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  profane 
and  sacred  literature,  there  are  now  also  high-schools, 
founded  for  the  purpose  of  training  teachers  and  rabbis. 
The  various  seminaries  furnish  Jewish  congregations  with 
capable  teachers,  ministers,  cantors,  etc.  In  former  times 
there  were  only  numerous  "  Yeshiboth,"  that  is,  academies  of 
Talmud,  in  which  rabbinical  authorities  taught  Theological 
discipline.  Many  of  those  Yeshiboth  exist  to  this  day,  as, 
for  instance,  the  Yeshiba,  in  Preszburg,  Hungary,  attended 
by  400  Talmud  students  (Bachurim),  and  the  many  similar 
places  of  learning  in  Russia,  Poland,  etc.  But  these  institu- 
tions fail  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  a  progressive  age,  afford- 
ing only  a  one-sided  education,  while  it  is  expected  that 
the  religious  guide  of  a  congregation  should  not  only  possess 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Talmud,  but  likewise  be  fully 
conversant  with  the  entire  Hebrew  and  kindred  literature, 
with  philosophy  and  the  classics,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
the  true  representatives  of  Judaism,  not  only  religiously,  but 
also  scientifically.  To  this  purpose  public  rabbinical  schools 
or  theological  colleges  were  founded,  of  which  the  following 
are  to  be  noticed : 

1.  The  Rabbinical  Seminary  at  Breslau,  founded  about 
1855,  which,  during  the  quarter  of  a  century  of  its  existence, 
has  accomplished  much  good  for  Judaism.  Great  men  of 
science,  scholars  of  world-wide  celebrity,  have  been  and  are 
now  active  there;  thus,  the  President,  Zacharias  Frankl 
(lately  deceased),  Professors  Graetz,  Lazarus  and  others. 
Many  rabbis,  now  filling  pulpits  in  Germany  and  here  in 
the  United  States,  are  graduates  of  that  seminary.  The  ten- 
dency of  this  justly  celebrated  institution  is  Conservative, 
maintaining  the  traditional  standpoint  of  Judaism,  and 


118  JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING. 

seeking  to  reconcile  it  with  the  results  of   scientific  re- 
searches. 

2.  The  High-School  for  the  Knowledge  of  Judaism  at  Ber- 
lin, with  Reformed  tendency,  was  founded  and  for  some  time 
conducted  by  the  celebrated  rabbi  and  author,  the  late  Dr. 
Abraham  Geiger  (died  in  1874). 

3.  The  Theological  Institute  or  "the  great  Beth  Ham- 
Midrash,"  at  Vienna,  called  into  existence  and  presided  over 
by  the  well-known  scholar  and  celebrated  preacher,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Adolph  Jellinek.  He  is  ably  assisted  by  the  erudite 
Talmudists  and  profound  exegetists,  the  Lectors  J.  H.  Weisz, 
M.  Friedman  and  others.  The  object  of  this  Institute  is  to 
spread  thorough  and  varied  knowledge.  It  is  perfectly  neu- 
tral with  regard  to  religious  tendency,  leaving  it  optional 
with  the  student  to  adopt  either  Reformed,  Orthodox  or  Con- 
servative views. 

4.  The  Rabbinical  Seminary  for  Orthodox  Judaism  in 
Berlin.  Dr.  Hildesheimer,  one  of  the  prominent  representa- 
tives of  Orthodoxy,  who  formerly  resided  at  Eisenstedt, 
Hungary,  and  there  founded  and  presided  over  an  Orthodox 
rabbinical  school,  transferred  it  to  Berlin,  on  his  removal  to 
the  German  capital,  and  now  directs  it  there,  under  the 
name  given  above. 

5.  The  Hungarian  Rabbinical  School  at  Buda-Pest,  Hun- 
gary, recently  established,  resembles,  in  its  polity,  organiza- 
tion and  tendency,  the  seminary  in  Breslau. 

Similar  other  institutions  are  to  be  found  in  a  more  or  less 
flourishing  condition,  at  Metz,  Lemberg,  Cincinnati  and 
other  cities.  The  Cincinnati  Hebrew  Union  College  we  shall 
notice  more  at  length  below. 

In  the  United  States  of  America  there  are  schools  for  re- 
ligious instruction  connected  with  almost  every  congregation. 
In  these  schools,  generally  superintended  by  the  rabbi,  min- 
ister or  teacher,  children  from  the  age  of  six  or  seven  to  that 


JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING.  119 

of  thirteen  or  fourteen  are  instructed  in  Hebrew,  Biblical 
History  and  Catechism.  The  sessions  of  these  schools  are 
held  mostly  on  Sundays  (the  other  days  of  the  week  being 
devoted  to  secular  instruction),  hence  their  name  of  Sunday- 
schools. 

The  rite  of  confirmation,  conferred  upon  children  of  proper 
age  and  sufficient  information,  generally  closes  their  religious 
instruction,  after  which  it  is  supposed  that  by  attending  the 
regular  divine  services  at  the  house  of  worship  and  listening 
to  the  religious  discourses  of  the  ministers,  they  increase 
their  knowledge  of  and  become  strengthened  in  their  ad- 
herence to  Judaism. 

In  large  cities,  where  poor  Israelites  reside,  their  children 
enjoy  the  benefits  of  religious  instruction  in  regularly-estab- 
lished and  well-endowed  Hebrew  free  schools. 

Both  in  Europe  and  in  this  country  there  has  been  a  long- 
felt  want  for  rabbis  properly  trained  and  thoroughly  familiar 
with  classical  and  Hebrew  lore.  The  graduates  of  European 
seminaries  heretofore  called  to  fill  pulpits  on  this  continent 
fail  more  and  more  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  American  congre- 
gations, in  proportion  as  these  congregations  lose  their  for- 
eign character.  This  failure  of  the  European  seminarists  is 
not  owing  to  any  lack  of  thoroughness  or  information,  but 
partly  to  their  ignorance  of  the  English  language  and  partly 
to  the  want  of  a  proper  appreciation  of  American  condi- 
tions. An  American  theological  college  was  what  was 
needed.  In  1855  an  attempt  was  made  in  Cincinnati  to 
establish  the  Zion  College;  and  in  1858  an  attempt  was 
made  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  Maimonides  College  was 
founded;  but,  owing  to  several  causes,  they  were  short- 
lived, and  ere  they  had  an  opportunity  to  produce  proofs 
of  their  vital  power  they  ceased  to  exist.  To  the  per- 
severance and  unremitting  efibrts  of  the  zealous  and  in- 
defatigable worker  for  the  cause  of  Judaism  in  America,  the 


120  JEWISH  INSTITUTIONS  OF  LEARNING. 

Rev.  Dr.  I.  M.  Wise,  it  is  mainly  due  that  such  a  college  is 
at  last  firmly  established,  founded  on  a  solid  basis,  and  bid- 
ding fair  to  accomplish  much  good  for  American  Judaism. 

As  mentioned  above  (Part  III.,  Chap,  xi.),  a  Union  of 
American  Hebrew  Congregations  was  effected  at  Cincinnati, 
in  1873.  The  avowed  object  of  this  Union  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  theological  college.  In  September,  1875,  a  pre- 
paratory class  was  opened.  The  Rev.  Dr.  I.  M.  Wise  was 
appointed  President,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  M.  Lilienthal  Professor 
of  the  embryo  college.  Every  succeeding  year  a  new  class 
was  added,  until  the  summer  of  1879  witnessed  the  comple- 
tion of  the  preparatory  course.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  the  college  proper  was  opened,  with  the  graduates  of 
the  preparatory  schools  at  Cincinnati  and  New  York.  The 
collegiate  course  is  calculated  to  consume  four  years,  after 
a  four  years'  preparatory  course,  so  that  after  eight  years' 
training  and  study  of  Hebrew  literature  and  science  in  all 
their  branches,  the  student  (who,  on  entering  the  Hebrew 
Union  College,  must  be  either  an  attendant  at  or  a  graduate 
of  a  high-school  or  university)  becomes  qualified  as  rabbi. 

Up  to  May,  1881,  the  instruction  to  the  students  was  im- 
parted in  the  school-rooms  of  the  two  principal  congrega- 
tions (Dr.  Wise's  and  Dr.  Lilienthal's)  alternately.  On  April 
24th  a  most  magnificent  and  commodious  building,  which  had 
been  purchased  and  fitted  up  for  the  purpose,  was  dedicated 
and  opened  as  the  Hebrew  Union  College.  The  Rev  Dr. 
I.  M.  Wise  is  the  President,  and  teaches  Philosophy ;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  M.  Lilienthal  is  Professor  of  History ;  the  Rev.  Dr. 
M.  Mielziner,  Professor  of  Talmud,  etc.  The  Faculty  com- 
prises also  two  Preceptors,  the  Messrs.  Aufrecht  and  Ep- 
pinger. 

A  very  valuable  library  of  some  8,000  volumes  is  con- 
nected with  and  owned  by  the  college.  A  preparatory  school 
of  the  Cincinnati  college  exists  also  in  New  York,  superin- 


ISRAELITISH  CELEBRITIES.  121 

tended  by  that  learned  and  zealous  champion  of  Judaism,  the 
Rev.  Dr  G.  Gottheil,  who  is  ably  assisted  by  an  efficient 
staff  of  teachers.  These  schools  at  New  York  and  Cincin- 
nati are  maintained  by  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew 
Congregations,  who  annually  appoint  a  commission,  com- 
posed of  learned  and  disinterested  gentlemen,  to  examine 
into  the  management  of  the  schools,  and  the  efficiency  and 
progress  of  the  students. 

XIV. — ISRAELITISH  CELEBRITIES. 

In  every  walk  of  public  life  we  now  find  Israel's  great 
men  active.  What  the  immortal  Moses  Mendelssohn  sought 
and  strove  for  was  continued  and  furthered  by  public- 
spirited  and  enlightened  men,  and  these,  no  less  than  their 
illustrious  prototype,  deserve  all  Israel's  everlasting  grati- 
tude, reverence  and  admiration.  Among  these  celebrities 
we  find  savants,  rabbis,  authors,  thinkers  and  poets. 

Sachs,  Zunz,  Rappaport,  Beer,  Phillippson,  Luzzato, 
Frankl,  Herxheimer,  Geiger,  Munk,  Jellinek,  Einhorn, 
Fuerst,  Dukes,  Neubauer,  Cassel,  Steinschneider,  Gold- 
schmidt,  Jost,  Graetz,  Herzfeld,  Adler,  Kaempf,  Joel,  Kayser- 
ling,  Rahmer,  Auerbach,  Guedeman,  Wise,  Lilienthal,  Gott- 
heil, Jastrow,  Huebsch,  Hirsch,  Kohler  and  many  more  in 
this  as  on  the  transatlantic  continent,  are  men  who  have  se- 
cured for  themselves  a  niche  in  the  Temple  of  Fame,  men 
upon  whom  Israel  may  look  with  just  pride. 

Among  the  great  men  of  modern  times  we  also  find  such 
eminent  Talmudists  as  Moses  Sofer,  Akiba  Eger,  Jonathan 
Eibenschuetz,  Bineth  Muentz,  Frankl,  Weisz,  Friedman  and 
others. 

To  the  most  prominent  pulpit  orators  of  the  present  age 
belong  men  like  Sachs,  Solomon,  Holdheim,  Mannheimer, 
Meisel,  Jellinek,  Philippson,  Goldschmidt,  Stein,  Einhorn, 


122  ISRAELITISH  CELEBRITIES. 

Leeser,  Raphall,  Huebsch,  Sonneschein,  Kohler,  Hirsch, 
Gottheil  and  others. 

Eminent  historiographers  are  Jost,  Graetz,  Kayserling, 
E.  Hecht,  Salvator,  Wolf,  Wise,  Raphall,  etc. 

Philosophers,  Schmiedl,  Joel  and  others. 

We  have  also  great  exegetists,  eminent  philologists  and 
acknowledged  literati  in  great  number. 

To  the  most  celebrated  singers  of  synagogical  music  (Cha- 
zanim)  belong,  first  and  foremost,  Sulzer;  next,  Levan- 
dowsky,  Naumburg,  Weintraub,  Friedman,  Goldstein,  Kat- 
schrnaroff,  Rubin,  etc. 

Besides  those  Israelites  who  devote  their  lives  to  Judaism 
and  its  science,  we  find  others  celebrated  as  philosophers, 
physicians,  jurists,  astronomers,  poets,  artists,  statesmen, 
etc. 

Lazarus,  Steinthal,  Traube,  Cremieux,  Rieser,  Lasker, 
Kuranda,  Levy,  Auerbach,  L.  A.  Frankl,  Kompert,  Mo- 
senthal,  Kaulbach,  Oppenheim,  Madame  Rachel,  Sonnen- 
thal,  Rott,  Meyerbeer,  Halevi,  Goldmark,  Ezekiel,  Noah, 
Judah  P.  Benjamin,  Simon  Wolf,  B.  F.  Peixotto,  Ellinger, 
Joachimsen  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention,  are  names 
which  are  universally  admired  and  honored. 

And  who  could  mention  all  the  great  men  in  Israel  who 
did  or  do  excel  as  merchants,  artists,  artisans,  scientists, 
etc.? 

But  before  we  close  this  chapter  of  celebrities  in  Israel  we 
must  mention  some  who,  as  the  benefactors  of  their  race, 
have  immortalized  their  names — who  have  founded  or  en- 
dowed homes  for  the  poor,  the  aged  or  infirm,  hospitals  for 
the  sick,  asylums  for  the  fatherless,  for  the  blind,  the  deaf 
and  the  mute,  or  schools  for  the  ignorant. 

There  is,  first  and  foremost,  that  pride  of  Israel,  the  hoary- 
headed,  patriarchal,  generous  and  illustrious  Sir  Moses  Mon- 
tefiore  (whom  may  God  grant  yet  many  years  of  life,  health 


STATISTICS.  128 


and  usefulness  !) ;  the  Rothschilds  in  England,  Austria  and 
Germany;  Hirsch,  Goldsmith,  Koenigswarter,  Wertheim, 
etc.,  in  Austria,  and,  above  all,  the  host  of  men  and  noble 
women  in  this  country  whose  praises  are  best  and  most 
worthily  proclaimed  by  those  grand  institutions  of  charity, 
supported  and  maintained  by  the  wealth  wherewith  God 
has  blessed  them. 

XV. — STATISTICS. 

The  number  of  Israelites  throughout  the  earth  is  variously 
estimated  as  low  as  7,500,000  and  as  high  as  10,000,000 
(Christians  at  between  400,000,000  and  500,000,000,  Moham- 
medans at  between  170,000,000  and  200,000,000,  and  Hea- 
thens at  between  850,000,000  and  900,000,000). 

Of  these  7,000,000  or  more  of  Israelites,  there  are  in  Eu- 
rope 5,000,000  to  5,500,000;  in  Asia,  750,000  to  1,000,000;  in 
Africa,  500,000  to  750,000;  in  North  America,  230,000  to 
280,000,  and  some  in  Australia. 

The  European  States  have  a  Jewish  population  approxi- 
mating the  following  numbers  ; 

1.  Poland 1,000,000  10.  Switzerland 10,000 

2.  Austro-Hungary . .  1,500,000  11.  Servia 2,000 

3.  Roumania 200,000  12.  France 48,000 

4.  Russia  (nearly) . . .  2,000,000  13.  Great  Britain 48,000 

6.  Netherlands 70,000  14.  Italy 36,000 

6.  Germany 511,000  15.  Norway 2,000 

7.  Turkey 100,000  16.  Sweden 2,000 

S.Greece 5,000  17.  Belgium 2,000 

9.  Denmark 5,000  18.  Spain-Portugal  . . .  7,000 

Arranged  according  to  the  three  great  national  families,  we 
find  that  by  far  the  greatest  number  of  European  Israelites 
(over  5,000,000)  live  among  the  people  of  Slavonian  tongue ; 
the  Romanic  countries  have  only  about  100,000,  and  the 
Germanic  about  850,000. 


124  STATISTICS. 


Most  of  the  Israelites  in  Germany  live  in  Posen,  Brom- 
berg,  Wiesbaden,  Marienwerder,  Cassel,  Unterfranken,  Ber- 
lin, Breslau,  Hamburg,  Altona,  Stettin,  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main,  Mannheim,  Strasburg,  Muehlhausen,  Leipsic,  Dresden, 
Munich,  Fuerth  and  Mayence. 

The  largest  Jewish  Congregations  in  Europe  are  in  Buda- 
pest, Vienna,  Cracow,  Lemberg,  London,  Prague,  Warsaw, 
St.  Petersburg,  Brody,  Bucharest,  Paris,  and  Constantinople. 

In  America,  most  of  the  Jews  live  in  the  following  States : 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Ohio,  California,  Illi- 
nois, Kentucky  and  Louisiana. 

The  largest  congregations  in  the  United  States  are  the 
following :  In  New  York  City,  Temple  Emanu-El,  Ahavath 
Chesed,  Beth-El  and  Sherith  Israel ;  in  Philadelphia,  Rodef 
Sholem,  Mikve  Israel,  Keneseth  Israel,  etc, ;  in  Cincinnati, 
B'nai  Israel  and  B'nai  Yeshurun ;  in  Baltimore,  Har  Sinai 
and  Oheb  Sholem ;  in  Chicago,  Sinai,  Zion  and  Anshe  Maariv-; 
in  Louisville,  Adath  Israel;  in  New  Orleans,  Sinai  and 
Gates  of  Prayer ;  in  St.  Louis,  Shaare  Emeth  and  B'nai-El ; 
in  San  Francisco,  Emanu-El  and  Ohabai  Sholom ;  in  Savan- 
nah, Mikve  Israel ;  in  New  Haven,  Mishkan  Israel. 

From  the  statistical  tables  published  by  order  of  the 
Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations  in  1880,  whence 
the  above  and  other  data  are  taken,  it  is  seen  that  there  are 
in  all  278  congregations  in  the  United  States,  with  an  aggre- 
gate membership  of  about  13,000.  The  Sabbath-schools 
connected  with  the  various  congregations  are  attended  by 
nearly  13,500  children,  while  the  value  of  real  estate  and 
other  property  owned  by  them  is  calculated  at  about  $7,- 
000,000. 


CONCLUSION, 


OUR  DUTY  IN  THE  PRESENT  AND  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 

We  have  thus  as  briefly  as  possible  sketched  the  history  of 
our  people;  a  history  so  rich  in  thrilling  incidents,  so 
fraught  with  valuable  lessons,  so  inspiring  and  comforting  I 
This  wonderful  record  of  this  remarkable  people,  whose 
sublime  mission  and  high  destiny  no  one  can  deny,  is  in  it- 
self a  faithful  guide  and  instructor.  It  clearly  points  out 
the  ways  of  Providence,  and  marks  the  goal  for  which  we 
are  to  strive.  It  is  a  true  index  of  the  progress  of  time,  of 
the  improvement  of  the  world  and  its  inhabitants.  For  no 
people  on  earth,  among  the  many  whose  road  was  a  thorny 
one,  has  suffered  as  much  as  Israel ;  none  was  more  perse- 
cuted or  oppressed  for  its  religious  views  than  were  the  Jews. 
And,  though  their  faith  was  the  mother  of  all  monotheistic 
religions,  yet  the  children  have  proven  wayward  and  rebel- 
lious. But  this  indescribable  suffering  of  Israel  is  at  the 
same  time  evidence,  unmistakable  and  undeniable,  of  an  all- 
kind  Providence,  watching  over  and  guarding  the  fate  of  its 
first-born  son.  Israel's  history  represents  in  its  entirety  a 
battle  for  existence,  lasting  thousands  of  years,  a  battle  in 
which  the  divine  grace  was  revealed  to  the  struggling  sons  of 
Jacob.  All  the  nations  of  gray  antiquity  have  fallen  and 
passed  away ;  the  ancient  people  of  the  covenant  of  God — 
Israel  alone — has  withstood  all  the  terrible  attacks  from 
without,  because  it  bears  within  the  germ  of  indestructibil- 
ity. That  people,  which  was  destined  to  become  the  priest- 
people  and  a  holy  nation — i.  e.,  not  a  powerful  nation,  in 


126  CONCLUSION. 


possession  of  an  extensive  territorial  domain,  but  only  a 
people,  the  receptacle  of  true  religion,  the  maintainer  and 
disseminator  of  the  purest  and  most  sublime  idea  concerning 
God,  virtue  and  morality  —  that  people  can  not,  will  never 
perish.  More  than  1800  years  ago  it  started  on  its  world- 
redeeming  mission.  Through  night  and  darkness,  through 
fire  and  water,  along  the  verge  of  dangerous  abysses,  past 
crumbling  worlds  and  decaying  institutions,  lay  its  way;  but 
gradually  the  mists  of  that  dreary  darkness  were  dispelled 
by  the  potent  agency  of  Israel's  torch  of  light  and  truth. 
Step  by  step  the  Jews  have  victoriously  advanced ;  the  intel- 
lectual world  recognizes  their  influence  for  good,  and  freely 
admits  that  many  blessings  enjoyed  in  these  days  and  many 
improvements  that  mark  the  present  era  are  directly  the  re- 
sult of  Israel's  faith. 

It  is  true  that  even  now  specters  rise  from  the  darkness  of 
their  mediaeval  tombs,  that  even  in  this  age  they  now  and 
then  raise  their  heads  and  disclose  their  horribly  contorted 
features  in  the  light  of  the  sun  of  civilization ;  it  is  true  that 
prejudices,  hatred,  malice  and  envy  still  tend  to  imbitter  the 
fate  of  this  often  and  sorely-tried  people ;  it  is  true  that  even 
in  Germany,  the  seat  of  modern  learning  and  thought,  an 
Anti-Semitic  agitation  has  been  set  on  foot  within  the  last 
few  years;  that  divines,  historians  and  scholars  not  only 
favor,  but  strongly  advocate,  a  measure  which  tends  to  de- 
prive the  Israelites  of  their  full  rights  as  German  citizens ; 
it  is  true  that  indescribable  woe  has  within  this  year  (1881) 
befallen  the  Jews  of  Southern  Russia ;  —  but  all  these  signs, 
painful  as  they  certainly  are,  and  trying  to  the  patience  of 
our  brethren  as  they  necessarily  must  be,  are  but  the  last 
agonies,  the  convulsions  preceding  the  total  dissolution  of 
the  monster. 

Out  of  the  40,000,000  and  more  inhabitants  of  Germany 
who  were  expected  or  requested  by  the  leaders  of  the  Anti- 


CONCLUSION.  127 


Semitic  League  to  sign  a  petition  to  the  government  for  the 
abrogation  of  the  rights  of  the  Jews,  there  were  less  than 
one-half  per  cent,  of  that  number  base  enough  to  sanction  so 
degrading  a  scheme. 

The  greatest  men  in  Germany,  excelling  in  art,  science  or 
statesmanship,  such  as  Professors  Virchow,  Mommsen  and 
others,  leaders  of  the  German  Parliament,  and,  above  all, 
the  hope  and  joy  of  the  Germans,  the  noble-hearted  and  il- 
lustrious Crown  Prince,  unqualifiedly  condemn  those  men  of 
narrow  minds  and  their  measures. 

In  Russia  the  government  has  taken  energetic  steps  to 
protect  the  Jews  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  mob,  and  to 
bring  to  condign  punishment  the  oifenders. 

In  Spain,  the  country  of  Torquemada  and  the  Inquisition, 
time  has  brought  about  a  most  gratifying  change.  Desirous 
of  atoning  for  the  Inquisition  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  his 
predecessors  on  the  Spanish  throne,  King  Alphonso,  hearing 
of  the  inhuman  treatment,  persecution  and  banishment  to 
which  the  Russian  Jews  are  exposed  at  present,  has  ex- 
tended to  them  a  most  cordial  invitation  to  settle  again  in 
the  land  their  fathers  had  loved  so  well. 

And,  therefore,  while  we  have  reason  to  look  hopefully  into 
the  future,  we  may  by  no  means  consider  our  work  com- 
pleted, our  mission  ended. 

To  strengthen  our  cause,  and  with  it  the  cause  of  human- 
ity, we  should  ever  keep  before  our  mind  the  valuable  lessons 
taught  by  the  history  of  Israel.  The  noble  examples  of 
those  that  have  gone  before  us  must  urge  us  on  to  emulate 
them ;  and  truth  and  light  and  knowledge  must  be  spread 
until  they  have  become  common  property.  Peace  and  har- 
mony must  prevail  and  the  covenant  which  God  made  with 
our  forefathers,  and  which  they  have  bequeathed  to  us,  we 
must  in  our  turn  renew  and  bequeath  to  our  posterity.    The 


128 


CONCLUSION. 


reconciliation  of  all  discordant  elements,  the  fraternization 
of  all  mankind,  is  the  goal  which  we  should  with  all  our 
power  strive  to  reach. 


[the  end.] 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE.* 


B.  C. 

The  Biblical  Annals  close,  about. 403 

Alexander  the  Great  conquers  Palestine '            332 

The  Jews  under  the  rule  of  the  Egyptian  Ptolemies 323—  221 

The  Jews  under  Syrian  rule 221 

Antiochus  Epiphanes  becomes  King 175 

The  War  for  Independence  begins  under  Matthias 167 

Juda  Maccabi 166—  160 

Jonathan 160—  143 

Simon  rules  as  Prince 143 —  135 

John  Hyrcanos 135 —  106 

Herod's  reign  begins 37 

«  c.  E. 

Herod's  reign  ends 3 

Hillel  and  Shammai,  Sanhedrial  Chiefs 91 

Roman  Procurators  appointed 7 

*'                     continued  till 37 

"                    appointed  again 44 —    70 

Destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple 70 

Bar  Cochba 130 

Fall  of  Bethar— Akiba's  death 135 

Simon  ben  Gamaliel  180 

Period  of  Amoraim  begins  with  Jebudah  Hanassi,  the 

compiler  of  the  Mishna 170 

Mishna  completed 210 

The  Jerusalem  Talmud  published,  about 37Q 

Rab  Ashe  publishes  the  Babylonian  Talmud 400. 

Rabina  completes  it,  about 500 

Sabureans 500—  550 

Gaonim 589—1038 

Bulan,  King  of  the  Chazares,  becomes  a  Jew^ 731 

Anan  founds  the  sect  of  Caraites 754 

Saadja. 892—  942 


•  After  M.  Elkan. 


Solomon  Ibn  Gabirol 1020—1070 

Rashi  1040—1105 

The  Crusades 1096 

Ibn  Ezra 1088—1167 

Alphes  dies 1 103 

Maimonidcs  (Rambam) 1135 — 1204 

Jehudah  Halevi  dies 1150 

Nachmanides  (Ramban)     1194 — 1268 

The  Jews  banished  from  England 1290 

Maharam  (Meyer  ben  Baruch)  die^ 1293 

Persecution  of  the  Jews  in  Spain 1391 

The  Jews  banished  from  Spain   . . 1492 

Don  Isaac  Abarbanel 1492 

Sabbathai  Zevi 1626—1676 

Manasse  ben  Israel — Spinoza — Return  of  the  Jews  to  En- 
gland   1655 

Moses  Mendelssohn    1729 — 1786 

First  Rabbinical  Conference 1844 

Second        "  "  1845 

Third  "  "  1846 

Dedication  of  the  Breslau  Seminary 1854 

Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations  founded 1873 

Dedication  of  the  Hebrew  Union  College 1881 


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